Investing.com - The euro was trading lower against the dollar on Wednesday after European leaders pressured Greece to do more to cut spending, a requirement for Athens to tap a EUR130 billion bailout fund.
While Greece has agreed to spending cuts and other austerity measures in exchange for assistance, European Union leaders analyzing the details behind Greece's proposed spending cuts said they were worried if the debt-ridden country was putting rhetoric into action.
In Asian trading on Wednesday, EUR/USD hit 1.3127, down 0.05%, firming from a session low of 1.3123 and off from a high of 1.3138.
The pair was likely to find support at 1.3080, Tuesday's low, and resistance at 1.3284, Monday's high.
Greece must meet its austerity commitments in exchange for funding to avoid default and bankruptcy, which would rattle the entire eurozone.
The Greek parliament recently mustered the political will to accept austerity, although putting spending cuts, pension reforms and layoffs into practice may prove to be difficult.
“I did not yet receive the required political assurances from the leaders of the Greek coalition parties on the implementation of the program,” Luxembourg Prime Minister Jean-Claude Juncker, chairman of the euro finance panel, said in a statement, according to Bloomberg.
He also pressed for “further technical work” on Greek budget cuts.
The currency suffered another setback on news that Moody's downgraded sovereign ratings for Italy, Portugal, Spain, Slovakia, Slovenia and Malta, and slapped negative outlooks on Austria, France and the U.K., which ups the likelihood the latter three countries could lose their coveted AAA ratings.
However, positive news trickled across the day's headlines in Europe.
The ZEW Centre for Economic Research reported that its German economic sentiment index improved to 5.4 in February from January’s reading of -21.6.
Analysts were expecting the index to improve to -11.6 in February.
Meanwhile economic sentiment for the entire eurozone rose in February to -8.1 from -32.5 in January, better than an expected reading of -21.1.
U.S. retail sales rose less than expected in January, increasing 0.4% after coming in flat in December, the Commerce Department said.
Markets were expecting a gain of 0.8%.
However, core retail sales in the U.S. climbed to 0.7%, beating expectations for a 0.6% increase.
The euro, meanwhile, was flat against the pound and down against the yen, with EUR/GBP trading at 0.8368 and EUR/JPY falling 0.10% at 102.92.
Later Wednesday, the U.K. is to produce official data on the claimant count change, an important signal of overall economic health, as well as unemployment data.
Later in the day, the Bank of England is to publish its Inflation Report, and Governor Mervyn King is due to hold a press conference to discuss the numbers afterwards.
Switzerland is to produce data on ZEW economic expectations, a leading gauge of economic health.
In the euro zone, France and Germany are to publish preliminary reports on their respective GDP figures.
The U.S. is to release a report on the Empire State Manufacturing index, a leading indicator of economic health, followed by data on net foreign purchases of long-term securities.
The Federal Reserve is also to publish data on its capacity utilization rate, a key indicator of consumer inflation, as well as on industrial production before releasing the minutes of its latest policy meeting later in the day.
The U.S. will also unveil data on its crude oil and gasoline inventories.
While Greece has agreed to spending cuts and other austerity measures in exchange for assistance, European Union leaders analyzing the details behind Greece's proposed spending cuts said they were worried if the debt-ridden country was putting rhetoric into action.
In Asian trading on Wednesday, EUR/USD hit 1.3127, down 0.05%, firming from a session low of 1.3123 and off from a high of 1.3138.
The pair was likely to find support at 1.3080, Tuesday's low, and resistance at 1.3284, Monday's high.
Greece must meet its austerity commitments in exchange for funding to avoid default and bankruptcy, which would rattle the entire eurozone.
The Greek parliament recently mustered the political will to accept austerity, although putting spending cuts, pension reforms and layoffs into practice may prove to be difficult.
“I did not yet receive the required political assurances from the leaders of the Greek coalition parties on the implementation of the program,” Luxembourg Prime Minister Jean-Claude Juncker, chairman of the euro finance panel, said in a statement, according to Bloomberg.
He also pressed for “further technical work” on Greek budget cuts.
The currency suffered another setback on news that Moody's downgraded sovereign ratings for Italy, Portugal, Spain, Slovakia, Slovenia and Malta, and slapped negative outlooks on Austria, France and the U.K., which ups the likelihood the latter three countries could lose their coveted AAA ratings.
However, positive news trickled across the day's headlines in Europe.
The ZEW Centre for Economic Research reported that its German economic sentiment index improved to 5.4 in February from January’s reading of -21.6.
Analysts were expecting the index to improve to -11.6 in February.
Meanwhile economic sentiment for the entire eurozone rose in February to -8.1 from -32.5 in January, better than an expected reading of -21.1.
U.S. retail sales rose less than expected in January, increasing 0.4% after coming in flat in December, the Commerce Department said.
Markets were expecting a gain of 0.8%.
However, core retail sales in the U.S. climbed to 0.7%, beating expectations for a 0.6% increase.
The euro, meanwhile, was flat against the pound and down against the yen, with EUR/GBP trading at 0.8368 and EUR/JPY falling 0.10% at 102.92.
Later Wednesday, the U.K. is to produce official data on the claimant count change, an important signal of overall economic health, as well as unemployment data.
Later in the day, the Bank of England is to publish its Inflation Report, and Governor Mervyn King is due to hold a press conference to discuss the numbers afterwards.
Switzerland is to produce data on ZEW economic expectations, a leading gauge of economic health.
In the euro zone, France and Germany are to publish preliminary reports on their respective GDP figures.
The U.S. is to release a report on the Empire State Manufacturing index, a leading indicator of economic health, followed by data on net foreign purchases of long-term securities.
The Federal Reserve is also to publish data on its capacity utilization rate, a key indicator of consumer inflation, as well as on industrial production before releasing the minutes of its latest policy meeting later in the day.
The U.S. will also unveil data on its crude oil and gasoline inventories.