EUR/USD followed a bell-shaped path.....>

EURO-DOLLAR: EUR/USD followed a bell-shaped path in the early part of the

Asia-Pacific session and sits at $1.1393, in line with today's opening price. 

- Recent price action has been heavily influenced by Italy's fiscal issues. On

Friday, the political uncertainty sent the pair to lows of $1.1336 before it

climbed to session highs at $1.1421 on the back of a shift in risk sentiment. 

- On Friday S&P affirmed Italy At 'BBB' but changed the country's outlook to

negative from stable, largely in line with broader market expectations. 

- On Sunday, Germany's ruling CDU won a Pyrrhic victory in Hesse regional

elections, registering its worst result there in the last 50 years. The

disappointing outcome delivered yet another blow to the ruling coalition. 

- EUR/USD bears keep an eye on the channel bottom & August lows at $1.1306/01

before challenging the Jun 14 channel base at $1.1275. On the upside, bulls seek

to break above the upper bound of the downtrend channel at $1.1404, which give

them hope for retaking the key $1.1448 level to improve the near-term outlook. 

- Highlights this week include EZ GDP & labour mkt data due Weds & CPI due

Thurs. Elsewhere, ECB's Visco & Italy's FinMin Tria will speak on Weds.