Investing.com - The euro extended losses against the U.S. dollar on Thursday, falling to a session low after Eurogroup head Jean-Claude Juncker said talks with private bondholders on a debt swap deal for Greece were “ultra-difficult”.
EUR/USD hit 1.3086 during European early afternoon trade, the session low; the pair subsequently consolidated at 1.3093, shedding 0.49%.
The pair was likely to find support at 1.3025, Wednesday’s low and resistance at 1.3232, last Friday’s high and a six-week high.
The euro slipped against the greenback earlier as investors remained wary of pushing the currency too high in the absence of an announcement on a debt restructuring deal for Greece.
Earlier in the week, European officials indicated that negotiations with Greece’s private creditors on a debt writedown are almost concluded, but concerns have persisted that the debt swap deal will not go far enough to reduce the country’s debt load.
Adding to difficulties, a second bailout and any public sector involvement must also be agreed upon before a deal can be announced.
An agreement is necessary for Greece to secure its next tranche of bailout funds in order to avoid a default when a EUR14.5 billion bond repayment comes due on March 20.
Meanwhile, Spain’s Treasury auctioned EUR4.5 billion of medium term debt earlier, at much lower yields than previously, while France sold EUR8 billion of government debt in an auction which met with solid investor demand and lower yields.
Also Thursday, official data showed that producer price inflation in the euro zone fell in December, declining 0.2% after rising by 0.2% in November.
Year-over-year, PPI rose at a rate of 4.3% in December, in line with expectations, after advancing at a rate of 5.4% in November.
The euro was also lower against the pound, with EUR/GBP shedding 0.40% to hit 0.8278.
Later in the day, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke was to testify before the House of Representatives budget committee. The U.S. was also to produce government data on initial jobless claims.
EUR/USD hit 1.3086 during European early afternoon trade, the session low; the pair subsequently consolidated at 1.3093, shedding 0.49%.
The pair was likely to find support at 1.3025, Wednesday’s low and resistance at 1.3232, last Friday’s high and a six-week high.
The euro slipped against the greenback earlier as investors remained wary of pushing the currency too high in the absence of an announcement on a debt restructuring deal for Greece.
Earlier in the week, European officials indicated that negotiations with Greece’s private creditors on a debt writedown are almost concluded, but concerns have persisted that the debt swap deal will not go far enough to reduce the country’s debt load.
Adding to difficulties, a second bailout and any public sector involvement must also be agreed upon before a deal can be announced.
An agreement is necessary for Greece to secure its next tranche of bailout funds in order to avoid a default when a EUR14.5 billion bond repayment comes due on March 20.
Meanwhile, Spain’s Treasury auctioned EUR4.5 billion of medium term debt earlier, at much lower yields than previously, while France sold EUR8 billion of government debt in an auction which met with solid investor demand and lower yields.
Also Thursday, official data showed that producer price inflation in the euro zone fell in December, declining 0.2% after rising by 0.2% in November.
Year-over-year, PPI rose at a rate of 4.3% in December, in line with expectations, after advancing at a rate of 5.4% in November.
The euro was also lower against the pound, with EUR/GBP shedding 0.40% to hit 0.8278.
Later in the day, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke was to testify before the House of Representatives budget committee. The U.S. was also to produce government data on initial jobless claims.