EUR/USD: Euro Trading Lower This Morning Amid Persistent Euro-Zone Worries

EUR/USD: Euro Trading Lower This Morning Amid Persistent Euro-Zone Worries

For the 24 hours to 23:00 GMT on Friday, EUR ended flat against the USD and closed at 1.2939, as continuing concerns over Spain and Greece were offset by reports showing stronger-than-expected US third quarter growth.

In the US, on a quarterly basis, the Gross Domestic Product rose to an annualised rate of 2.0% in 3Q FY2012, following a 1.3% increase recorded in the previous quarter.

Meanwhile in Europe, late on Thursday, a report from the International Monetary Fund indicated that Greek debt would be above the target of 120% of GDP in 2020 and Athens would need more reforms before emergency credit from international lenders can start flowing again. Meanwhile, the Greek government responded by stating that a deal on Athens' latest austerity package was being held up by opposition from a coalition ally.

Over the weekend, Germany's Finance Minister, Wolfgang Schaeuble dismissed the idea of governments and other public creditors taking a hit on their Greek debt holdings, arguing that it would not be legally feasible.

Meanwhile, the European Central Bank President, Mario Draghi backed a proposal by the German Finance Minister, Wolfgang Schaeuble to radically expand the powers of the European Union's monetary affairs commissioner giving Brussels greater control over member states budgets.

On the economic front, Germany's import prices declined 0.7% (MoM) in September, after rising 1.3% in the August, while the import price index rose 1.8% (YoY) in September, following a 3.2% rise in August. Meanwhile, according to survey results from market research group GfK, confidence among German consumers is expected to rise to 6.3 in November, from an upwardly revised reading of 6.1 in October.

Separately, consumer confidence in France dropped for the fifth month in a row to a reading of 84.0 in October, compared to a reading of 85.0 in September.

In the Asian session, at GMT0400, the pair is trading at 1.2929, with the EUR trading 0.08% lower from Friday's close.

The pair is expected to find support at 1.2889, and a fall through could take it to the next support level of 1.2850. The pair is expected to find its first resistance at 1.2962, and a rise through could take it to the next resistance level of 1.2995.

Trading trends in the pair today are expected to be determined by the German consumer price index. Meanwhile, investors also eye the release of core personal consumption expenditure – prices index, personal spending and personal income data in the US.