The dollar steadied Monday morning in New York, supported by lingering concerns that Greece lacks the will to work out a deal to restructure is massive sovereign debt.
European Union leaders are meeting today in Brussels to discuss a fiscal compact and the Greek situation.
Fitch Ratings said Friday that it has downgraded the long-term Issuer Default Ratings of Spain, Italy, Belgium, Cyprus and Slovenia, and affirmed the long-term Issuer Default Ratings of Ireland.
However, Italy raised EUR 7.5 billion from bond issue on Monday, close to the maximum target set for the auction. Borrowing costs continued to fall.
The dollar improved to $1.3110 versus the euro, about a penny from Friday’s monthly low of $1.3225.
Eurozone economic confidence improved in January, marking the first increase since March 2011, driven largely by rising confidence in services, a survey carried out by the European Commission showed Monday.
The corresponding indicator rose to 93.4 from 92.8 in December. Economists had forecast an increase to 93.8 from December’s original score of 93.3.
The Spanish economy shrank 0.3 percent quarter-on-quarter in the fourth quarter, in line with the quarterly estimates from the Bank of Spain, the latest official figures show.
Choppy dealing left the dollar near $1.57 versus the sterling, and there was little movement below Y77 versus the yen.
The Bureau of Economic Analysis is due to release its personal income & outlays report for December at 8:30 am ET. Economists expect that personal income as well as personal spending rose 0.1 percent each from the previous month.
Looking ahead on this week’s U.S. economic calendar, the monthly non-farm payrolls report for January, a private sector job report by ADP, considered a precursor for the former, the results of the Institute for Supply Management’s manufacturing and non-manufacturing surveys will keep traders busy this week.