EU's Moscovicci: not considering the opening of budget procedure against Italy now

The European Commissioner for Economic and Financial Affairs, Pierre Moscovici, on Tuesday, said that the EU Commission is not considering the opening of the budget procedure against Italy for the time being. "Italy cannot put off structural reforms forever," Moscivici added.

Earlier in the session, the EU Commission in its latest Economic Growth Forecasts noted that Italy's public debt was expected to rise to 136.2% of GDP in 2019, to 136.8% in 2020 and to 137.4% in 2021, well above the EU ceiling of 60%.

Meanwhile, the EUR/USD pair continues to trade in the upper-half of its daily range near the 1.1080 handle.