Investing.com - The euro extended losses against the U.S. dollar on Tuesday, as expectations for further monetary easing by the Federal Reserve were diminished by data showing that U.S. retail sales posted the largest gain in five months in February.
EUR/USD hit 1.3052 during U.S. morning trade, the pair’s lowest since February 16; the pair subsequently consolidated at 1.3084, down 0.54%.
The pair was likely to find support at 1.3043, the low of February 15 and resistance at 1.3190, the session high.
The Commerce Department said that U.S. retail sales increased by a seasonally adjusted 1.1% last month, in line with expectations.
Core retail sales, which exclude automobile sales, rose by 0.9% in February, above expectations for a 0.8% gain.
The data further dampened expectations for a third round of monetary stimulus by the Fed, after data on Friday showed that the U.S. economy added more jobs than forecast last month.
The euro shrugged off a report by the ZEW Centre for Economic Research, which showed that its index of German economic sentiment advanced to the highest level since June 2010 in March, climbing to 22.3, against expectations for a reading of 10.5.
Elsewhere Tuesday, Spain agreed to demands from euro zone finance ministers that it cut its budget deficit target for this year to 5.3% of gross domestic product instead of its original 5.8% target.
The euro was sharply lower against the pound, with EUR/GBP tumbling 0.86% to hit 0.8337 and trimmed gains against the yen, with EUR/JPY up just 0.03% to trade at 108.21, off an earlier high of 108.73.
The Federal Reserve was to announce its benchmark interest rate later in the day; the announcement was to be accompanied by the central bank’s rate statement.
EUR/USD hit 1.3052 during U.S. morning trade, the pair’s lowest since February 16; the pair subsequently consolidated at 1.3084, down 0.54%.
The pair was likely to find support at 1.3043, the low of February 15 and resistance at 1.3190, the session high.
The Commerce Department said that U.S. retail sales increased by a seasonally adjusted 1.1% last month, in line with expectations.
Core retail sales, which exclude automobile sales, rose by 0.9% in February, above expectations for a 0.8% gain.
The data further dampened expectations for a third round of monetary stimulus by the Fed, after data on Friday showed that the U.S. economy added more jobs than forecast last month.
The euro shrugged off a report by the ZEW Centre for Economic Research, which showed that its index of German economic sentiment advanced to the highest level since June 2010 in March, climbing to 22.3, against expectations for a reading of 10.5.
Elsewhere Tuesday, Spain agreed to demands from euro zone finance ministers that it cut its budget deficit target for this year to 5.3% of gross domestic product instead of its original 5.8% target.
The euro was sharply lower against the pound, with EUR/GBP tumbling 0.86% to hit 0.8337 and trimmed gains against the yen, with EUR/JPY up just 0.03% to trade at 108.21, off an earlier high of 108.73.
The Federal Reserve was to announce its benchmark interest rate later in the day; the announcement was to be accompanied by the central bank’s rate statement.