Investing.com - The euro softened against a firming dollar on Tuesday even though a widely-watched gauge of U.S. consumer confidence missed expectations, as investors remained camped out in the greenback ahead of the Federal Reserve's Wednesday announcement on interest rates and monetary policy
In U.S. trading on Tuesday, EUR/USD was down 0.27% at 1.3748, up from a session low of 1.3740 and off from a high of 1.3813.
The pair was likely to find support at 1.3652, the low from Oct. 21, and resistance at 1.3833, Friday's high.
Concerns over economic fallout of the U.S. government shutdown and the debt-ceiling have taken their toll on consumers.
The Conference Board said its index of consumer confidence dropped to 71.2 in October from an upwardly revised reading of 80.2 in September.
Analysts were expecting the index to fall to 75.0 this month.
The data came on the heels of Commerce Department data showing that U.S. retail sales fell 0.1% in September, while core retail sales, which exclude transportation items and gasoline, rose 0.4%, both in line with expectations.
Separately, the Labor Department reported that the country's producer price index contracted 0.1% in September, defying gains for a 0.2% gain.
The data cemented expectations that the Fed will maintain its USD85 billion monthly bond-buying program for the near future, possibly into first quarter of next year, to safeguard U.S. economic recovery.
Asset purchases aim to spur recovery by driving down long-term borrowing costs, weakening the dollar in the process, though investors chose to remain parked in the greenback on Tuesday before digesting the Federal Reserve's language on Wednesday.
Expectations for the Fed to keep policy unchanged have also been priced into trading, which gave the greenback room to post modest gains on Tuesday.
The euro, meanwhile, was up against the pound and up against the yen, with EUR/GBP trading up 0.30% at 0.8566 and EUR/JPY trading up 0.25% at 134.98.
On Wednesday, markets will move on the Federal Reserve's announcement on monetary policy.
Also on Wednesday, the U.S. is to release the ADP report on nonfarm payrolls and official data on consumer price inflation.
Meanwhile in Europe, Germany is to release official data on the change in the number of people unemployed as well as preliminary data on consumer inflation.
Elsewhere in the euro zone, Spain is to publish a preliminary estimate of third-quarter gross domestic product.
In U.S. trading on Tuesday, EUR/USD was down 0.27% at 1.3748, up from a session low of 1.3740 and off from a high of 1.3813.
The pair was likely to find support at 1.3652, the low from Oct. 21, and resistance at 1.3833, Friday's high.
Concerns over economic fallout of the U.S. government shutdown and the debt-ceiling have taken their toll on consumers.
The Conference Board said its index of consumer confidence dropped to 71.2 in October from an upwardly revised reading of 80.2 in September.
Analysts were expecting the index to fall to 75.0 this month.
The data came on the heels of Commerce Department data showing that U.S. retail sales fell 0.1% in September, while core retail sales, which exclude transportation items and gasoline, rose 0.4%, both in line with expectations.
Separately, the Labor Department reported that the country's producer price index contracted 0.1% in September, defying gains for a 0.2% gain.
The data cemented expectations that the Fed will maintain its USD85 billion monthly bond-buying program for the near future, possibly into first quarter of next year, to safeguard U.S. economic recovery.
Asset purchases aim to spur recovery by driving down long-term borrowing costs, weakening the dollar in the process, though investors chose to remain parked in the greenback on Tuesday before digesting the Federal Reserve's language on Wednesday.
Expectations for the Fed to keep policy unchanged have also been priced into trading, which gave the greenback room to post modest gains on Tuesday.
The euro, meanwhile, was up against the pound and up against the yen, with EUR/GBP trading up 0.30% at 0.8566 and EUR/JPY trading up 0.25% at 134.98.
On Wednesday, markets will move on the Federal Reserve's announcement on monetary policy.
Also on Wednesday, the U.S. is to release the ADP report on nonfarm payrolls and official data on consumer price inflation.
Meanwhile in Europe, Germany is to release official data on the change in the number of people unemployed as well as preliminary data on consumer inflation.
Elsewhere in the euro zone, Spain is to publish a preliminary estimate of third-quarter gross domestic product.