Credit: Investing.com - The euro was lower against the U.S. dollar on Monday as market sentiment was hit by concerns that the pace of the recovery in the U.S. labor market is moderating and uncertainty over the outlook for U.S. budget talks.
EUR/USD hit 1.3017 during European afternoon trade, the session low; the pair subsequently consolidated at 1.3023, down 0.35%.
The pair was likely to find near-term support at 1.2996, Friday's low and resistance at 1.3189, Thursday's high.
Official data on Friday showed the U.S. economy added 155,000 jobs in December, easing from an upwardly revised increase of 161,000 in November. The unemployment rate held steady at 7.8%.
The data dampened speculation that the Federal Reserve may end its easing program sooner than had been expected after the minutes from the Fed's December meeting showed that some policymakers considered ending the bank's quantitative easing program before the end of the year.
Investor confidence was also hit by concerns about continuing political wrangling in Washington over further budget cuts and raising the U.S. debt ceiling.
The euro was lower against the pound and the yen, with EUR/GBP sliding 0.32% to 0.8105 and EUR/JPY dropping 0.83% to 114.24.
The euro showed little reaction after official data showed that producer price inflation in the euro zone declined 0.2% in November, defying expectations for a 0.1% increase.
A separate report showed that the Sentix index of investor confidence in the euro zone came in at minus seven in January, its highest level since February 2011, after a reading of minus 16.8 last month.
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The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
