The euro remained firm around the 1.21 usd mark following its battering at the end of last week. The single currency got battered, sliding from above 1.23 usd on Thursday to a low of 1.2089 earlier today, on a combination of diminishing expectations of another interest rate hike from the European Central Bank next month following comments from the central bank's president Jean-Claude Trichet, and better than expected US jobs news. Friday's closely-watched payrolls data showed the US economy created 211,000 jobs in March against expectations of around 190,000. That news reinforced expectations that the US Federal Reserve may raise the cost of borrowing above 5.00 pct from the current 4.75 pct in the months to come. "As long as the Fed continues to hike, the dollar will likely stay supported, which is likely to be the case until this summer," said Stephen Jen, currency strategist at Morgan Stanley. Before Friday, the euro had climbed up toward 2006 highs against the dollar, as ECB rate hike expectations were bolstered by the relentless flow of robust economic indicators in the area. In comparison, US data had generally been on the soft side. However, analysts said the yield gap between the US and the euro zone is likely to narrow over 2006, which should work to the advantage of the euro. "We remain of the view that an end to the Fed tightening cycle will open up the dollar to renewed pressure from structural concerns relating to current account financing and reserve diversification," said UBS currency strategist Daniel Katzive. With little on the data front today, the markets will be concentrating on this week's US trade and budget data, which could well have the potential to stoke up renewed structural concerns and undermine the dollar.