Investing.com - The euro eased slightly against the U.S. dollar Tuesday, as a meeting of leaders from Europe’s two largest economies failed to excite the market on prospects of a solution to the region’s debt woes.
EUR/USD hit 1.4410 in early Asian trade, the pair’s highest since Monday; the pair subsequently consolidated at 1.4390, falling 0.12%.
The pair was likely to find support at 1.4105, last Thursday’s low, and resistance at 1.4475, Monday’s high.
Earlier Tuesday, French President Nicolas Sarkozy and German Chancellor Angela Merkel met in Paris to address the European debt crisis.
The two rejected an expansion to the USD633 billion rescue fund for debt-threatened countries in the euro-zone, calling instead for tighter regional budget rules and a resubmission of a financial transaction tax.
The leaders also proposed that nations consider enacting balanced budget provisions into national law and the formation of a “euro council” to be led by current EU President Herman Van Rompuy.
An attempt to pass a financial transaction tax in 2010 was rejected by the European Union.
Putting a further damper on enthusiasm for the euro, the European Union’s Eurostat announced that gross domestic product in the region eased up just 0.2% in the second quarter, falling short of a 0.3% market forecast.
Growth in Europe’s largest economy also slowed, as a report earlier in the day showed that Germany’s GDP rose 0.1% in the quarter ending in June. The second quarter figure was in marked contrast to a 1.3% expansion rate in the first quarter, and well below economist’s forecasts of a 0.5% rise.
European shares finished their Tuesday session mixed, with France’s CAC 40 down 0.25%, Britain’s FTSE 100 higher by 0.13%, and Germany’s DAX Index shedding 0.45%.
Meanwhile, the euro was lower against the British pound and the Japanese yen, with EUR/GBP falling 0.06% to hit 0.8747 and EUR/JPY down by 0.17% to hit 110.45.
Eurostat was to release its core consumer price index, year on year, during the day Wednesday.