Investing.com -- EUR/USD fell considerably on Tuesday extending sharp losses over the last month, as currency traders await the release of a critical U.S. jobs report later this week for further hints whether the Federal Reserve could raise short-term interest rates before the end of the year.
The currency pair traded between 1.0937 and 1.1053 in Tuesday's session before settling at 1.0962, down 0.0053 or 0.48% on the session. The euro has closed lower against the dollar in nine sessions since October 20, including a massive sell-off on Oct. 22 when it plunged by 2.05%. Over the last month of trading, the euro is down by more than 2.1% against its American counterpart.
EUR/USD likely gained support at 1.0894, the low from Oct. 28 and was met with resistance at 1.1496, the high from Oct. 15.
For the most part, investors are hesitant to make any major trades ahead of Friday's release of the U.S. national employment report for October by the Department of Labor. Nonfarm payrolls were expected to rise by 190,000 in October, significantly higher than a relatively soft reading of a 142,000 gain a month earlier. Economists also expect the unemployment rate to inch down by 0.1% to 5.0% and average hourly wages to tick up by 0.2%. The Fed has indicated that it will closely watch the next two U.S. jobs reports as it weighs its decision.
Elsewhere, European Central Bank president Mario Draghi continued to send strong indications that the ECB could extend the scope of its comprehensive asset-purchasing program when the Governing Council meets next in December. When the ECB's Governing Council last met in October, Draghi noted that the central bank could ramp up the bond buying program and further lower interest rates as a means for boosting inflation.
"Those asset purchases are proceeding smoothly and continue to have a favorable impact on the cost and availability of credit for firms and households," Draghi said at a reception for the Opening of the European Cultural Days in Frankfurt. "But even though domestic demand remains resilient, concerns over growth prospects in emerging markets and other external factors are creating downside risks to the outlook for growth and inflation."
Yields on the U.S. 10-Year surged more than six points to a one-month high at 2.225%, before closing at 2.218%. Yields on the U.S. 2-Year, meanwhile, soared more than 16 points to 0.911%, before falling back to 0.77%. Yields on 2-year government bonds also reached monthly-highs on Tuesday.
The U.S. Dollar Index, which measures the strength of the greenback versus a basket of six other major currencies, surged more than 0.3% to an intraday high of 97.57 before closing at 97.26.