Forexpros – The euro added to recent losses against the U.S. dollar on Monday, sliding to a seven-month low as concerns over the possibility of a sovereign debt default by Greece escalated.
EUR/USD hit 1.3500 during late Asian trade, the pair’s lowest since February 16; the pair subsequently consolidated at 1.3539, tumbling 0.83%.
The pair was likely to find support at 1.3367, the low of January 19 and resistance at 1.3855, the high of February 28.
On Sunday, Greece’s government announced that it will impose a new property tax to cover a EUR2 billion gap in its budget targets this year. Earlier this month, talks with international creditors on delivering Greece’s next tranche of aid were suspended, after Athens failed to meet fiscal targets.
Sentiment on the single currency was also hit by weekend reports that Germany’s government has plans to insulate their country’s banking sector from a default by Greece.
The reports were dismissed by German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble, who said Germany remained focused on implementing the bailout agreement reached with Greece.
The euro was also down against the pound, with EUR/GBP shedding 0.33% to hit 0.8569.
Also Sunday, European Union Economic and Monetary Affairs Commissioner Olli Rehn said he welcomed the commitment by the Greek government to meet fiscal targets this year and in 2012.
Forexpros
