Investing.com - The euro remained lower against the U.S. dollar on Monday, as upbeat U.S. retail sales data lent support to the greenback, while comments by European Central Bank President Mario Draghi continued to weigh on the shared currency.
EUR/USD hit 1.3808 during U.S. morning trade, the pair's lowest since April 9; the pair subsequently consolidated at 1.3823, shedding 0.44%.
The pair was likely to find support at 1.3780, the low of April 9 and resistance at 1.3899, the high of April 10.
The dollar strengthened after official data showed that U.S. retail sales rose 1.1% in March, exceeding expectations for a 0.8% gain. Retail sales in February were revised up to a 0.7% increase from a previously estimated 0.3% rise.
Core retail sales, which exclude automobiles, rose 0.7% last month, more than the expected 0.5% increase, after a 0.3% gain in February.
Meanwhile, the euro remained under pressure after ECB President Mario Draghi said Saturday that further gains in the euro would trigger additional monetary easing to keep inflation from falling.
"A strengthening of the exchange rate requires further monetary stimulus. That is an important dimension for our price stability," he said.
ECB governing council member and Bank of France governor Christian Noyer said Monday that a weaker euro is desirable; adding that the stronger the currency is the more "accommodating" monetary policy needs to be.
Data last month showed that the annual rate of inflation in the euro area slowed to 0.5%, well below the ECB’s target of just under 2%. The central bank kept monetary policy on hold unchanged earlier this month, but said it would consider unconventional measures if needed to prevent low inflation from becoming entrenched in the euro zone.
The single currency shrugged off data showing that industrial production in the euro area rose 0.2% in February from a month earlier, pushing the annual rate up to 1.7%.
Market expectations had been for an annual gain of 1.5% and a monthly increase of 0.2%.
The euro was lower against the pound, with EUR/GBP retreating 0.42% to 0.8263.
Also Monday, market sentiment was hit by fresh fears over Ukraine as the threat of military action by Kiev against pro-Russian separatists in the east of the country mounted after a deadline for them to leave government buildings they are occupying expired.
The U.S. has indicated that it is prepared to impose more sanctions against Moscow if Russian encroachments in eastern Ukraine continue.