Forex - EUR/USD hits 11-month highs before Bernanke speech

Investing.com - The euro extended its recent rally against the U.S. dollar on Monday, rising to an 11-month high ahead of a speech by Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke later in the trading day.

EUR/USD hit 1.3404 during late Asian trade, the pair’s highest since February 29; the pair subsequently consolidated at 1.3380, gaining 0.28%.

The pair was likely to find support at 1.3247, Friday’s low and resistance at 1.3485, the high of February 29.

The dollar remained under pressure ahead of a speech by Ben Bernanke on monetary policy and the recovery from the global financial crisis later Monday, amid speculation that the Fed chairman would quash speculation over an earlier-than-expected end to the central bank’s quantitative easing program.

Demand for the euro continued to be underpinned after European Central Bank President Mario Draghi said last week that a gradual recovery in the euro zone economy would begin this year.

The euro hit nine-month highs against the pound, with EUR/GBP rising 0.23% to 0.8290 and was at 20-month highs against the broadly weaker yen, with EUR/JPY up 0.67% to 119.79.

Later Monday, the euro zone was to release official data on industrial production.