Investing.com - The euro was higher against the U.S. dollar on Monday, but gains were expected to remain limited as concerns the European economy is struggling and may require fresh stimulus measures from the European Central Bank continued to weigh.
Trading volumes were expected to remain light on Monday as U.S. markets were to remain closed for Columbus Day.
EUR/USD hit 1.2697 during late Asian trade, the session high; the pair subsequently consolidated at 1.2668, rising 0.33%.
The pair was likely to find support at 1.2582, the low of October 7 and resistance at 1.2792, the high of October 9.
Sentiment on the euro remained vulnerable amid fears that Germany, the euro zone’s largest economy is being dragged into a recession after recent data indicated unexpected weakness in manufacturing and exports.
Data released last Thursday showed that German exports fell 5.8% in August, and this followed weak industrial output figures on Tuesday.
Earlier last week, the International Monetary Fund cut its forecasts for global growth in 2014 and 2015 and warned that global growth may never reach its pre-crisis levels ever again.
The fund revised down its growth forecasts for the euro area’s three largest economies Germany, France and Italy.
Meanwhile, the dollar regained some ground after the minutes of the U.S. Federal Reserve's September meeting prompted investors to push back the expected timing of a Fed rate hike.
On Friday, Fed Vice Chairman Stanley Fischer said weaker-than-expected global growth could prompt it to slow the pace of eventual interest rate hikes.
The euro was steady against the pound, with EUR/GBP inching up 0.06% to 0.7863.