Investing.com - The euro pushed higher against the dollar on Wednesday amid optimism that politicians in Washington would reach an agreement to raise the U.S. debt ceiling in time to avert a U.S. default.
EUR/USD hit 1.3562 during European afternoon trade, the session high; the pair subsequently consolidated at 1.3558, gaining 0.25%.
The pair was likely to find support at 1.3478, Tuesday’s low and resistance at 1.3596, Monday’s high.
Senate leaders were to resume negotiations on a deal to reopen the government and raise the federal borrowing limit later Wednesday, after a last minute deal put forward by House Republicans collapsed.
Ratings agency Fitch placed its triple-A rating on the U.S. on “rating watch negative” on Tuesday, saying the political impasse has undermined confidence in U.S. economic policy.
The U.S. Treasury has said that if an agreement to raise the USD16.7 trillion debt ceiling is not struck ahead of Thursday’s deadline, the U.S. will face an unprecedented sovereign debt default.
In the euro zone, data released on Wednesday showed that the annual rate of consumer inflation in the euro zone was unchanged from a preliminary estimate of 1.1% in September.
A separate report showed that the euro zone’s trade surplus widened to EUR12.3 billion in August from EUR11 billion in April, broadly in line with forecasts.
Elsewhere, the euro was steady against the pound, with EUR/GBP dipping 0.02% to 0.8453 and was higher against the yen, with EUR/JPY rising 0.38% to 133.24.
Sterling remained steady against the euro after data showed that the number of people claiming unemployment benefits in the U.K. posted the largest decline since June 1997 in September.
The Office for National Statistics said that the U.K. claimant count fell by 41,700 in September, outstripping expectations for a decline of 25,000 people.
The rate of unemployment held steady at 7.7% in August, in line with expectations and unchanged from July.
EUR/USD hit 1.3562 during European afternoon trade, the session high; the pair subsequently consolidated at 1.3558, gaining 0.25%.
The pair was likely to find support at 1.3478, Tuesday’s low and resistance at 1.3596, Monday’s high.
Senate leaders were to resume negotiations on a deal to reopen the government and raise the federal borrowing limit later Wednesday, after a last minute deal put forward by House Republicans collapsed.
Ratings agency Fitch placed its triple-A rating on the U.S. on “rating watch negative” on Tuesday, saying the political impasse has undermined confidence in U.S. economic policy.
The U.S. Treasury has said that if an agreement to raise the USD16.7 trillion debt ceiling is not struck ahead of Thursday’s deadline, the U.S. will face an unprecedented sovereign debt default.
In the euro zone, data released on Wednesday showed that the annual rate of consumer inflation in the euro zone was unchanged from a preliminary estimate of 1.1% in September.
A separate report showed that the euro zone’s trade surplus widened to EUR12.3 billion in August from EUR11 billion in April, broadly in line with forecasts.
Elsewhere, the euro was steady against the pound, with EUR/GBP dipping 0.02% to 0.8453 and was higher against the yen, with EUR/JPY rising 0.38% to 133.24.
Sterling remained steady against the euro after data showed that the number of people claiming unemployment benefits in the U.K. posted the largest decline since June 1997 in September.
The Office for National Statistics said that the U.K. claimant count fell by 41,700 in September, outstripping expectations for a decline of 25,000 people.
The rate of unemployment held steady at 7.7% in August, in line with expectations and unchanged from July.