Investing.com - The euro slipped lower against the dollar and the yen on Monday after data on private sector activity in the euro zone indicated that the economic recovery could be losing momentum.
EUR/USD dipped 0.07% to 1.3589 from 1.3606 before the release of the data.
The pair was likely to find support at 1.3540 and resistance at 1.3642, the high of June 19.
The euro zone’s composite index of service and manufacturing sector activity across the region fell to a six month low of 52.8 in June from 53.5 in May.
The euro area’s manufacturing purchasing managers’ index fell to 51.9, down from a final reading of 52.2 in May. Economists had expected an unchanged reading.
The bloc’s services PMI declined to 52.8 from 53.2 in May, compared to expectations for an uptick to 53.3.
Germany’s manufacturing PMI ticked up to a two-month high of 52.4 from 52.3 in May.
The country’s services PMI declined to a two-month low of 54.8 from 56.0 in May, but remained well above the 50 level that separates growth from contraction.
A separate report showed that France’s private sector continued to contract this month.
The French manufacturing PMI tumbled to a six-month low of 47.8, down from 49.6 in May, while the service sector PMI fell to a four-month low of 48.2 from 49.1
European Central Bank President Mario Draghi said over the weekend that interest rates would stay low over a longer period and that large-scale asset purchases are still part of the central bank's toolkit.
The ECB cut interest rates to record lows and launched a series of measures to boost lending to companies earlier this month, in a bid to stave off the threat of deflation in the euro area and shore up the recovery.
The shared currency extended losses against the yen, with EUR/JPY down 0.29% to 138.42.
Elsewhere Monday, EUR/GBP slid 0.13% to 0.7982, not far from the more than one-and-a-half year low of 0.7958 reached last Monday.