Investing.com - The euro held steady near seven-month lows against the U.S. dollar on Monday, despite the release of upbeat manufacturing and service sector data from the euro zone, as expectations for additional stimulus measures before the end of the year limited gains.
EUR/USD hit 1.0892 during European morning trade, the session high; the pair subsequently consolidated at 1.0886.
The pair was likely to find support at 1.0857, Friday’s low and a seven-month low and resistance at 1.0932, Friday’s high.
Research group Markit said that its euro zone composite purchasing managers’ index, which measures the combined output of both the manufacturing and service sectors, increased to a 10-month high of 53.7 October, from the prior month’s reading of 52.6.
Analysts had expected the index to rise to 52.8 this month.
Earlier Monday, Markit said its German manufacturing PMI rose to 55.1 in October from 54.3 the previous month, beating expectations for an unchanged reading.
The German services PMI climbed to 54.1 this month from 50.9, compared to expectations for an uptick to 51.5.
Markit also said its French manufacturing PMI rose to 51.3 in October from 49.7 the previous month, exceeding expectations for a reading of 50.0.
However, the French services PMI slipped to 52.1 this month from 53.3, compared to expectations for a fall to 53.0.
The single currency still continued to hover near seven-month lows against the U.S. dollar since European Central Bank President Mario Draghi indicated last week that the bank may extend its stimulus program in December.
The euro was higher against the pound, with EUR/GBP adding 0.18% to 0.8901.