Forexpros – The euro remained lower against the U.S. dollar on Monday, as European Union finance ministers prepared to hold talks aimed at tackling the ongoing debt crisis in the euro zone.
EUR/USD hit 1.2983 during European late morning trade, the pair subsequently consolidated at 1.3009, shedding 0.25%.
The pair was likely to find support at 1.2945, the low of December 14 and an 11-month low and resistance at 1.3083, the high of December 16.
EU finance ministers were to discuss plans to provide up to EUR200 billion in loans to the International Monetary Fund, as well as changes to the EU treaty that would allow a permanent EUR500 billion bailout fund to be established.
Concerns over the risk of credit rating downgrades continued to weigh after ratings agency Fitch lowered France’s credit outlook and put six euro zone countries on review pending possible downgrades on Friday.
Over the weekend, European Central Bank President Mario Draghi reiterated his opposition to intervening in the bond markets and buying up sovereign debt in order to ease the region’s debt crisis in an interview with the Financial Times.
The dollar remained supported as news of North Korean leader Kim Jong il’s death fanned concerns over potential geopolitical instability in northeast Asia.
Elsewhere, the euro edged higher against the pound, with EUR/GBP easing up 0.09% to hit 0.8397.
Also Monday, the ECB said that the euro zone current account recorded a deficit of EUR7.5 billion in October, swinging from a surplus of EUR2.2 billion the previous month.
Analysts had expected the region’s current account post a deficit of EUR1.9 billion in October.
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