Investing.com - The euro fell against the U.S. dollar on Tuesday, as investors remained cautious ahead of the European Central Bank's upcoming policy meeting on Thursday amid growing expectations for fresh easing measures.
EUR/USD hit 1.2420 during European late morning trade, the session low; the pair subsequently consolidated at 1.2436, shedding 0.27%.
The pair was likely to find support at 1.2357, the low of November 23 and resistance at 1.2524, the high of November 27.
The euro remained under pressure after data on Friday showed that the annual rate of euro area inflation slowed to a five year low of 0.3% last month, down from 0.4% in October.
The weak data added to pressure on the ECB to step up measures to spur growth and stave off the threat of deflation ahead of its upcoming policy meeting on Thursday.
Sentiment on the single currency also remained vulnerable after data on Monday showed that the euro zone’s manufacturing purchasing managers' index slowed to 50.1 from a preliminary reading of 50.4 last month, just barely above the 50 level separating growth from contraction.
Earlier Tuesday, official data showed that the number of unemployed people in Spain declined by 14,700 in November, compared to expectations for an increase of 57,300, after a 79,200 rise in October.
The euro was also lower against the pound, with EUR/GBP edging down 0.10% to 0.7919.
Also Tuesday, market research firm Markit and the Chartered Institute of Purchasing & Supply said that their U.K. construction PMI declined to 59.4 in November from a reading of 61.4 in October.
Economists had expected the index to fall to 61.2 in November.