Investing.com - The euro was little changed against the U.S. dollar and the yen on Wednesday, as hopes that an upcoming European Union summit would deliver concrete steps to deal with the region’s debt crisis dimmed.
During European late morning trade, the euro ticked up and down between small gains and losses against the U.S. dollar, with EUR/USD inching up 0.01% to trade at 1.2495.
Hopes that European leaders would make progress on dealing with the debt crisis in the euro area faded after German Chancellor Angel Merkel reiterated her opposition to the idea of joint euro zone bonds on Tuesday.
Investors were looking ahead to the outcome of talks between Chancellor Merkel and French President François Hollande later in the day, ahead of the EU summit meeting on Thursday and Friday.
Earlier Wednesday, Italy saw borrowing costs climb to the highest level since December at an auction of six-month government bonds, as investor sentiment towards Italy continued to deteriorate.
Italy’s Treasury sold the full targeted amount of EUR9 billion of six-month government bonds at an average yield of 2.95%, up from 2.10% at a similar auction last month.
The single currency little changed against the yen and the Swiss franc, with EUR/JPY inching down 0.03% to trade at 99.32 and EUR/CHF dipping 0.01% to hit 1.2009.
The single currency inched higher against the pound, with EUR/GBP easing up 0.05% to trade at 0.7991.
The pound remained supported despite mounting speculation that the Bank of England may implement fresh quantitative easing measures to shore up growth as soon as next month.
On Tuesday, BoE governor Mervyn King the outlook for the U.K. economy had deteriorated in recent weeks as a result of the ongoing euro zone crisis, and added that an interest rate cut would be less effective in stimulating the economy than more easing.
The euro was mixed against the Canadian, Australian and New Zealand dollars, with EUR/CAD rising 0.10% to hit 1.2806, EUR/AUD slipping 0.08% to hit 1.2404 and EUR/NZD easing up 0.11% to hit 1.5811.
In New Zealand, official data showed that the trade surplus narrowed to NZD301 million in May, down from a revised NZD335 million the previous month, slightly above expectations for a NZD300 million surplus.
Later in the day, the U.S. was to publish official data on durable goods orders, as well as industry data on pending home sales.
During European late morning trade, the euro ticked up and down between small gains and losses against the U.S. dollar, with EUR/USD inching up 0.01% to trade at 1.2495.
Hopes that European leaders would make progress on dealing with the debt crisis in the euro area faded after German Chancellor Angel Merkel reiterated her opposition to the idea of joint euro zone bonds on Tuesday.
Investors were looking ahead to the outcome of talks between Chancellor Merkel and French President François Hollande later in the day, ahead of the EU summit meeting on Thursday and Friday.
Earlier Wednesday, Italy saw borrowing costs climb to the highest level since December at an auction of six-month government bonds, as investor sentiment towards Italy continued to deteriorate.
Italy’s Treasury sold the full targeted amount of EUR9 billion of six-month government bonds at an average yield of 2.95%, up from 2.10% at a similar auction last month.
The single currency little changed against the yen and the Swiss franc, with EUR/JPY inching down 0.03% to trade at 99.32 and EUR/CHF dipping 0.01% to hit 1.2009.
The single currency inched higher against the pound, with EUR/GBP easing up 0.05% to trade at 0.7991.
The pound remained supported despite mounting speculation that the Bank of England may implement fresh quantitative easing measures to shore up growth as soon as next month.
On Tuesday, BoE governor Mervyn King the outlook for the U.K. economy had deteriorated in recent weeks as a result of the ongoing euro zone crisis, and added that an interest rate cut would be less effective in stimulating the economy than more easing.
The euro was mixed against the Canadian, Australian and New Zealand dollars, with EUR/CAD rising 0.10% to hit 1.2806, EUR/AUD slipping 0.08% to hit 1.2404 and EUR/NZD easing up 0.11% to hit 1.5811.
In New Zealand, official data showed that the trade surplus narrowed to NZD301 million in May, down from a revised NZD335 million the previous month, slightly above expectations for a NZD300 million surplus.
Later in the day, the U.S. was to publish official data on durable goods orders, as well as industry data on pending home sales.