Investing.com - The euro erased losses against the U.S. dollar on Wednesday, after the European Central Bank left interest rates on hold and said that its asset purchases are boosting growth in the euro area, although demand for the greenback was also supported by upbeat U.S. data.
EUR/USD eased off 1.1081, the session low, to hit 1.1167 during European afternoon trade, up 0.13%.
The pair was likely to find support at 1.1001, the low of May 22 and resistance at 1.1210, the high of May 22.
At the conclusion of its monthly policy meeting, the ECB held its benchmark interest rate at a record-low 0.05%, in line with market expectations.
Commenting on the decision, ECB President Mario Draghi said the bank's asset purchase programs "are proceeding well."
He added that asset purchases will continue until the end of September 2016 and "until we see a sustained adjustment in the path of inflation that is consistent with our aim of achieving inflation rates below, but close to, 2% over the medium term."
Draghi also said that the ECB's asset-buying program are contributing to economic growth and that the full implementation of the bank's monetary policy measures will "provide the necessary support to the euro area economy."
Data earlier showed that euro zone retail sales rebounded 0.7% in April and were up 2.2% from a year earlier.
Another report showed that the region’s unemployment rate fell to 11.1% in April from 11.2% in March.
The single currency also found some support earlier amid hopes that Greece will soon reach an agreement with its international lenders on a cash-for-reforms deal.
In the U.S., payroll processing firm ADP reported on Wednesday that U.S. non-farm private employment rose by 201,000 last month, just above expectations for an increase of 200,000.
The economy created 165,000 jobs in April, whose figure was downwardly revised from a previously reported increase of 169,000.
Separately, the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis said that the trade deficit narrowed to $40.88 billion in April from a deficit of $50.57 billion in March, whose figure was revised from a previously reported deficit of $51.37 billion.
Analysts had expected the U.S. trade deficit to narrow to $44.0 billion in April.
The euro was also higher against the pound, with EUR/GBP climbing 0.50% to 0.7304.