Investing.com - The euro dropped against the dollar on Wednesday after data revealed that existing home sales in the U.S. blew past expectations in July, which made the greenback an attractive venue to those waiting for the release of the Federal Reserve's July meeting minutes.
In U.S. trading on Wednesday, EUR/USD was down 0.42% at 1.3362, up from a session low of 1.3354 and off from a high of 1.3427.
The pair was likely to find support at 1.3316, Monday's low, and resistance at 1.3452, Tuesday's high.
The National Association of Realtors reported earlier that existing home sales jumped 6.5% to 5.39 million annual unit rate in July from June’s revised total of 5.06 million. Analysts were expecting U.S. existing home sales to edge up 1.6% to 5.15 million units.
The numbers sparked hopes that the U.S. economy is improving to the point that the Federal Reserve will begin tapering its USD85 billion monthly bond-buying program, which weakens the greenback to spur recovery.
The Federal Reserve will release the minutes of its July policy meeting later in the day, and markets were hoping the document will provide fresh clues as to when tapering may begin.
The dollar was higher on speculation that tapering may begin in September as opposed to December, another starting point often mentioned in trading circles.
The euro, meanwhile, was down against the pound and up against the yen, with EUR/GBP trading down 0.47% at 0.8524 and EUR/JPY trading up 0.06% at 130.58.
In the U.K. earlier, the Confederation of British Industry reported that its industrial orders index hit a two-year high in August, coming in a 0 compared to -12 in July.
Analysts were expecting a -8 reading for this month.
Elsewhere, the U.K.’s public sector posted a GBP1.6 billion deficit in July compared to market calls for a GBP4.7 billion deficit.
In U.S. trading on Wednesday, EUR/USD was down 0.42% at 1.3362, up from a session low of 1.3354 and off from a high of 1.3427.
The pair was likely to find support at 1.3316, Monday's low, and resistance at 1.3452, Tuesday's high.
The National Association of Realtors reported earlier that existing home sales jumped 6.5% to 5.39 million annual unit rate in July from June’s revised total of 5.06 million. Analysts were expecting U.S. existing home sales to edge up 1.6% to 5.15 million units.
The numbers sparked hopes that the U.S. economy is improving to the point that the Federal Reserve will begin tapering its USD85 billion monthly bond-buying program, which weakens the greenback to spur recovery.
The Federal Reserve will release the minutes of its July policy meeting later in the day, and markets were hoping the document will provide fresh clues as to when tapering may begin.
The dollar was higher on speculation that tapering may begin in September as opposed to December, another starting point often mentioned in trading circles.
The euro, meanwhile, was down against the pound and up against the yen, with EUR/GBP trading down 0.47% at 0.8524 and EUR/JPY trading up 0.06% at 130.58.
In the U.K. earlier, the Confederation of British Industry reported that its industrial orders index hit a two-year high in August, coming in a 0 compared to -12 in July.
Analysts were expecting a -8 reading for this month.
Elsewhere, the U.K.’s public sector posted a GBP1.6 billion deficit in July compared to market calls for a GBP4.7 billion deficit.