Investing.com – The euro held gains against the U.S. dollar on Tuesday, as investors awaited the outcome of a critical parliamentary confidence vote for Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou.
EUR/USD hit 1.4388 during early U.S. trade, the pair’s highest since June 15; the pair subsequently consolidated at 1.4369, gaining 0.46%.
The pair was likely to find support at 1.4126, last Friday’s low and resistance at 1.4496, the high of June 14.
Greece’s prime minister needs the confidence vote to pass in order for his government to secure support for new austerity measures and qualify for a second tranche of emergency loans from the European Union and International Monetary Fund, in order to avert a sovereign debt default.
Earlier in the day, the euro slipped after the ZEW Centre for Economic Research said its index of German economic sentiment fell significantly more-than-expected in June, dropping for the fourth consecutive month.
The index fell to -9.0 in June from a reading of 3.1 in May. Analysts had expected the index to decline to -3.0 in June.
Commenting on the report, ZEW President Wolfgang Franz said, "Troubles in the euro zone as well as the feared economic downturn in the U.S. seem to weigh heavily on the mind of the financial market experts”.
The euro was also up against the pound, with EUR/GBP rising 0.39% to hit 0.8862.
Also Tuesday, the U.S. National Association of Realtors said existing home sales declined broadly in line with expectations in May, down 3.8% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.81 million in May.
Analysts had expected existing home sales to decline to 4.78 million last month, from a downwardly revised 5.0 million in April.
EUR/USD hit 1.4388 during early U.S. trade, the pair’s highest since June 15; the pair subsequently consolidated at 1.4369, gaining 0.46%.
The pair was likely to find support at 1.4126, last Friday’s low and resistance at 1.4496, the high of June 14.
Greece’s prime minister needs the confidence vote to pass in order for his government to secure support for new austerity measures and qualify for a second tranche of emergency loans from the European Union and International Monetary Fund, in order to avert a sovereign debt default.
Earlier in the day, the euro slipped after the ZEW Centre for Economic Research said its index of German economic sentiment fell significantly more-than-expected in June, dropping for the fourth consecutive month.
The index fell to -9.0 in June from a reading of 3.1 in May. Analysts had expected the index to decline to -3.0 in June.
Commenting on the report, ZEW President Wolfgang Franz said, "Troubles in the euro zone as well as the feared economic downturn in the U.S. seem to weigh heavily on the mind of the financial market experts”.
The euro was also up against the pound, with EUR/GBP rising 0.39% to hit 0.8862.
Also Tuesday, the U.S. National Association of Realtors said existing home sales declined broadly in line with expectations in May, down 3.8% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.81 million in May.
Analysts had expected existing home sales to decline to 4.78 million last month, from a downwardly revised 5.0 million in April.