LONDON, Jan 13: The euro held to a narrow range against the dollar on Monday as the single currency attempted to consolidate on recent gains which on Friday saw it riding up to its highest level in over three years.

The single European currency slipped back to $1.0542 from $1.0573 late on Friday.

The euro rode up to $1.0585 earlier Friday, which represented the single currency’s highest point since October 1999.

The dollar meanwhile edged up to 119.35 yen from 119.28 on Friday.

Analysts said while robust German economic data and mounting geopolitical tensions had helped buoy demand for the euro, the market was wary of chasing the currency much higher for now given the extent of the unit’s recent spike higher.

Euro/dollar has struggled to make upside progress despite the weak US jobs data, said ABN Amro analyst Rob Hayward.

Figures released earlier showed November production rose a seasonally adjusted 2.5 per cent from October, compared with expectations for a 0.4 per cent gain.

But Hayward believes that, while the euro may struggle to forge much higher in the immediate future, any dips should be viewed as a buying opportunity.

He said technical analysts would soon begin to talk about the possibility of the euro rallying up to 1.0911, described as “the next major level”, should resistance at 1.0606 be breached.

Other analysts concurred with the view that the dollar would eventually resume its downward trend as the United States continued to ratchet up the pressure on Iraq and given recent worrying developments in North Korea.

US defence officials said Sunday thousands more troops had been ordered to head for the Gulf region for a possible attack against Iraq, pushing US force levels above 150,000 by mid-February.

The general (bearish) dollar sentiment is unlikely to reverse this week as the Iraq issue as well as the uncertainties surrounding North Korea remain unsolved, WestLB analysts said in a note to clients.

The euro was changing hands at 1.0542 dollars from 1.0573 late on Friday in New York, 125.87 yen (126.13), 0.6571 pounds (0.6574) and 1.4610 Swiss francs (1.4594).

The dollar was being quoted at 119.35 yen (119.28), and 1.3856 Swiss francs (1.3800).

The pound was at 1.6048 dollars (1.6068), 191.52 yen (191.70) and 2.2241 Swiss francs (2.2190).

On the London Bullion Market, the price of an ounce of gold nudged up to $352.95 from $352.80 late on Friday. —AFP