Investing.com - The euro remained lower against the dollar and the other main currencies on Monday as fears over the growing threat of war between Russia and Ukraine sparked a broad based selloff in assets perceived as risky.
EUR/USD hit session low of 1.3728 and was last down 0.28% to 1.3763. On Friday the pair rose to two-month highs of 1.3823.
The pair was likely to find support at 1.3730 and resistance at 1.3800.
Escalating tensions over the unfolding crisis in the Ukraine spurred a flight to safety, following Russian President Vladimir Putin’s decision to send troops into the Crimea region over the weekend.
Ukraine's interim government has called for more international support to force Russian troops to leave.
The move sparked fears that the West will impose economic sanctions against Russia. Russia’s central bank hiked interest rates from 5.5% to 7% on Monday, after the rouble fell to new record lows against the euro and dollar.
In the euro zone, data on Monday confirmed that the region’s manufacturing purchasing managers’ index declined to 53.2 in February from 54.0 in January. It was the first dip in five months, highlighting the fragile nature of the recovery in the euro area.
Separate reports showed that the rate of decline in France’s manufacturing sector eased in February, while activity in Germany’s manufacturing sector rose for the eighth straight month.
The euro was lower against the broadly stronger yen, with EUR/JPY down 0.68% to 139.51.
The common currency fell to its lowest level in more than a year against the Swiss franc, with EUR/CHF hitting lows of 1.2103, the weakest since January 2013, before pulling back to 1.2126.
The euro was also lower against the pound, with EUR/GBP down 0.21% to 0.8226.
Sterling found support after data on Monday showed that the strong upswing in the U.K. manufacturing sector continued in February, with jobs growth in the sector accelerating to a 33-month high.
The Markit U.K. manufacturing PMI for February came in at 56.9, up from a revised 56.6 in January. Analysts had expected the index to tick down to 56.5.