The euro was lower against the U.S. dollar on Monday, at the beginning of a week that will see the release of closely watched U.S. inflation data. The euro bought $1.2493 in morning European trading, down from $1.2514 in New York late Friday. The British pound bought $1.8569, barely changed from its Friday level of $1.8568. The dollar slipped to 119.36 Japanese yen from 119.63 yen.