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Forex - EUR/USD drops as U.S. GDP numbers meet market forecasts

Published 08/29/2012, 02:41 PM
Updated 08/29/2012, 02:43 PM
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Investing.com - The euro fell against the dollar on Wednesday after the U.S. government announced the country's gross domestic product rates rose a revised 1.7% in the second quarter, in line with market expectations.

Solid housing data published as well, which helped quash expectations the Fed will stimulate the U.S. economy with dollar-weakening easing tools.

In U.S. trading on Wednesday, EUR/USD was trading down 0.27% at 1.2532, up from a low of 1.2519 and off from a high of 1.2573.

The pair was likely to find support at 1.2466, Tuesday’s low, and resistance at 1.2576, Tuesday's high.

The government revised its second-quarter growth estimate up two percentage points to 1.7% from 1.5%, which watered down talk the Federal Reserve will roll out a new round of quantitative easing.

Under quantitative easing, the Fed buys assets from banks such as Treasury holdings or mortgage-backed securities, pumping the economy full of fresh liquidity to drive down borrowing costs and spur recovery, weakening the dollar in the process.

Housing data surprised on the upside as well, further convincing markets that the Fed may decide the economy can stand on its own two feet.

The National Association of Realtors said its index of pending home sales index rose 2.4% in July, far outpacing expectations for a 1.0% increase.

Year-on-year, pending home sales rose 15.0% in July, beating out market calls for an 11.1% increase, after rising by 8.4% in June.

The data came a day in the footsteps of bullish home pricing data.

The Standard & Poor's/Case-Shiller home price index released Tuesday showed a gain of 0.5% from June 2011, the first annual increase since 2010.

Analysts were expecting the figure to contract 0.1%.

The euro saw support, however, amid ongoing hopes the European Central Bank and other entities will craft a bond-buying program to lower borrowing costs in countries like Spain and Italy, though obstacles still remain, namely opposition among German policymakers.

The euro, meanwhile, was down against the pound and down slightly against the yen, with EUR/GBP down 0.40% at 0.7910, and EUR/JPY trading down 0.01% at 98.63.

Investors are keeping an eye ahead for Friday, when the Federal Reserve begins its annual symposium at Jackson Hole, Wyoming.

Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke has used the event to announce policy actions in the past, most notably the Fed's second round of quantitative easing.








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