Early trade in New York: Euro hits three-week low versus dollar

The euro slid to a three-week low against the dollar on Monday with more losses expected as eurozone debt difficulties and a deluge of economic data and events this week kept investors on edge. The euro underperformed the dollar for a third straight day, dropping below the widely perceived pivotal level of $1.35. The euro slipped 0.4 percent to $1.3487, partly attributed to news about troubled German bank WestLB.
WestLB is preparing to suggest its own break-up to the European Commission on Tuesday to win approval for billions in state aid, three people familiar with the matter said. The dollar was up around 0.2 percent on the day against a currency basket to 78.631, trading above its 100-day moving average for the first time in four weeks. The dollar fell against the yen for the first time in nine days, dropping 0.2 percent at 83.25 yen.