Investing.com -- The euro moved slightly higher against the dollar on Wednesday, following the release of weaker than expected U.S. employment and manufacturing data.
The modest gains, however, were softened by continuing drama in Greece, as the nation's sovereign debt crisis weighed on the euro. The euro retreated in U.S. afternoon trading after Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) released an ominous note to investors on the ramifications of a potential Greek default if the nation leaves the European Union.
EUR/USD fell to 1.0759 in U.S. afternoon trading, from a daily-high of 1.0794 hours earlier. The pair still inched up 0.24% for the session.
The euro's rally against the dollar, came one day after it fell nearly 1% on Tuesday to 1.0733 -- its largest daily loss since Mar 19. The currency pair also reached its lowest level on Tuesday since Mar. 20 when relatively dovish comments from Federal Reserve chair Janet Yellen spurred a brief rally in the euro.
EUR/USD likely received support at 1.05 its low from Mar. 11 and resistance at 1.14 its high from mid-February.
The pair moved mildly higher on Wednesday from 1.0744 to 1.076, following the release of ADP's National Employment Report, a monthly report that measures the change in total non-farm private employment on a seasonally-adjusted basis. Last month, the U.S. Private Sector added 189,000 jobs for the month of March, far below economists' forecasts of the addition of 225,000, according to ADP. The subdued private sector job growth marked its lowest increase since January, 2014.
The report comes ahead of Friday's highly-anticipated U.S. jobs report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), which will be released while commodity markets remain closed for Good Friday. On Mar. 6, when the BLS reported that unemployment nationwide declined to 5.5% for the previous month, the euro slid roughly 2% to 1.08 amid speculation that an interest-rate hike from the Federal Reserve could be imminent.
Greece, meanwhile, is reportedly running out of time to secure critical aid from its euro zone creditors that could be vital to stave off bankruptcy. Earlier this week the creditors rejected Greece's latest proposal of reforms, deeming the austerity measures a "list of ideas," rather than a "concrete plan."
As negotiations near a standstill, investors continue to withdraw funds from Greek banks at a high rate. Households pulled out €8.8 billion from banks throughout the country in January and an additional €5.4 billion a month later, Goldman told investors. Corporations, meanwhile, withdrew €3.3 bil in January, before taking out €1.9 bil during the month of February.
"We think these developments are more important than the market is giving them credit for," Goldman Sachs strategist Robin Brooks wrote in the investors note.
Yields on Greek 10-Year bonds rose 0.18 to 11.81 on Wednesday, while yields on the German 10-Year bunds rose 0.002 to 0.174.
In the U.S., yields on U.S. 10-Year Treasuries plunged 0.075 to 1.859, while yields on U.S. 30-Year Treasuries fell 0.077 to 2.466.