Forexpros – The euro was higher against the yen on Monday, as new hopes of progress in tackling the sovereign debt crisis in the euro zone ahead of a Franco-German meeting in Paris boosted demand for the single currency.
EUR/JPY hit 105.00 during European afternoon trade, the daily high; the pair subsequently consolidated at 104.82, gaining 0.37%.
The pair was likely to find support at 103.66, the low of November 22 and resistance at 105.69, the high of December 2.
Markets eyed a meeting between German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Nicolas Sarkozy on Monday, as they were to discuss a plan for stricter enforcement of the region’s deficit rules that they will present to European Union leaders at Friday’s key economic summit.
The single currency found support earlier after Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti unveiled a EUR30 billion package of austerity measures, which includes raising taxes and increasing the pension age. The plan was due to be presented before the Italian Chamber of Deputies later in the day.
Ireland and Greece were also scheduled to present austerity budget plans to their respective parliaments this week.
Earlier Monday, official data showed that retail sales in the euro zone rose more-than-expected in October, advancing 0.4% after a 0.6% decline the previous month.
Analysts had expected retail sales to rise 0.2% in October.
A separate report showed that investor confidence in the euro zone fell more-than-expected in December, remaining in negative territory for the fifth consecutive month.
Elsewhere, the yen was fractionally higher against the U.S. dollar with USD/JPY inching down 0.02%, to trade at 77.96.
Later in the day, the U.S. Institute of Supply Management was to release a report on service sector activity. The U.S. was also to publish government data on factory orders.
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