Investing.com - The euro pared gains against the U.S. dollar on Monday, pulling away from the session high, after data showed that the U.S. service sector expanded unexpectedly in February, further dampening expectations for more easing by the Federal Reserve.
EUR/USD pulled back from 1.3237, the session high, to hit 1.3209 during U.S. morning trade, up just 0.08%.
The pair was likely to find support at 1.3043, the low of February 15 and resistance at 1.3331, last Friday’s high.
The Institute of Supply Management said its non-manufacturing purchasing managers’ index climbed to 57.3 in February from a reading of 56.8 the previous month. Analysts had expected the index to decline to 56.1.
A separate report showed that U.S. factory orders fell, albeit at a slower than forecast pace in January, declining by a seasonally adjusted 1.0%, compared to expectations for a 1.3% slide.
The euro found support earlier after official data showed that retail sales across the euro zone rose for the first time in five months in January, increasing by a seasonally adjusted 0.3%, defying expectations for a 0.1% decline.
The positive data offset a report showing that the euro zone's services sector contracted at faster rate than initially estimated in February, shrinking for the fifth time in six months.
Meanwhile, sentiment on the single currency remained fragile amid uncertainty over whether Greece will finalize a debt swap deal with its private creditors ahead of a March 8 deadline.
A failure to agree on the debt restructuring deal would put the country back on the brink of a messy sovereign debt default.
The euro was lower against the pound and the yen, with EUR/GBP slipping 0.08% to hit 0.8329 and EUR/JPY down 0.37% to hit 107.57.
Also Monday, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao cut the nation's economic growth target to 7.5% for 2012 earlier, down from a previous target of 8%, in order to allow the pace of economic expansion room to moderate if necessary.
EUR/USD pulled back from 1.3237, the session high, to hit 1.3209 during U.S. morning trade, up just 0.08%.
The pair was likely to find support at 1.3043, the low of February 15 and resistance at 1.3331, last Friday’s high.
The Institute of Supply Management said its non-manufacturing purchasing managers’ index climbed to 57.3 in February from a reading of 56.8 the previous month. Analysts had expected the index to decline to 56.1.
A separate report showed that U.S. factory orders fell, albeit at a slower than forecast pace in January, declining by a seasonally adjusted 1.0%, compared to expectations for a 1.3% slide.
The euro found support earlier after official data showed that retail sales across the euro zone rose for the first time in five months in January, increasing by a seasonally adjusted 0.3%, defying expectations for a 0.1% decline.
The positive data offset a report showing that the euro zone's services sector contracted at faster rate than initially estimated in February, shrinking for the fifth time in six months.
Meanwhile, sentiment on the single currency remained fragile amid uncertainty over whether Greece will finalize a debt swap deal with its private creditors ahead of a March 8 deadline.
A failure to agree on the debt restructuring deal would put the country back on the brink of a messy sovereign debt default.
The euro was lower against the pound and the yen, with EUR/GBP slipping 0.08% to hit 0.8329 and EUR/JPY down 0.37% to hit 107.57.
Also Monday, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao cut the nation's economic growth target to 7.5% for 2012 earlier, down from a previous target of 8%, in order to allow the pace of economic expansion room to moderate if necessary.