Investing.com - The euro was higher against the U.S. dollar on Wednesday, boosted by better euro zone manufacturing data and hopes for a debt restructuring agreement for Greece will be finalized this week.
EUR/USD hit 1.3151 during European early afternoon trade, the session high; the pair subsequently consolidated at 1.3127, gaining 0.33%.
The pair was likely to find support at 1.2930, the low of January 25 and resistance at 1.3213, Tuesday’s high.
The euro erased early losses against the greenback after data showed that the euro zone’s manufacturing purchasing managers’ index rose to 48.8 from an earlier estimate of 46.9 in December, but the data showed that only Germany registered a reading above 50, indicating expansion.
A separate report showed that the rate of consumer price inflation in the euro zone eased to 2.7% in December from 2.8% the previous month, giving the European Central Bank more leeway to cut rates.
The euro was also supported by hopes negotiations with Greece’s creditors are very close to being concluded, but concerns have persisted that a debt swap deal with the country’s private bondholders will not go far enough to reduce the country’s debt load.
Meanwhile, Portugal saw borrowing costs fall at an auction of short-term government debt earlier, but yields on 10-year government bonds remained close to recent euro-era highs, amid worries that the country may also be forced to restructure its debt.
The euro was also higher against the pound, with EUR/GBP adding 0.20% to hit 0.8318.
Later in the day, the U.S. was to release a report on ADP non-farm payrolls, as well as data from the Institute for Supply Management on manufacturing sector activity.
EUR/USD hit 1.3151 during European early afternoon trade, the session high; the pair subsequently consolidated at 1.3127, gaining 0.33%.
The pair was likely to find support at 1.2930, the low of January 25 and resistance at 1.3213, Tuesday’s high.
The euro erased early losses against the greenback after data showed that the euro zone’s manufacturing purchasing managers’ index rose to 48.8 from an earlier estimate of 46.9 in December, but the data showed that only Germany registered a reading above 50, indicating expansion.
A separate report showed that the rate of consumer price inflation in the euro zone eased to 2.7% in December from 2.8% the previous month, giving the European Central Bank more leeway to cut rates.
The euro was also supported by hopes negotiations with Greece’s creditors are very close to being concluded, but concerns have persisted that a debt swap deal with the country’s private bondholders will not go far enough to reduce the country’s debt load.
Meanwhile, Portugal saw borrowing costs fall at an auction of short-term government debt earlier, but yields on 10-year government bonds remained close to recent euro-era highs, amid worries that the country may also be forced to restructure its debt.
The euro was also higher against the pound, with EUR/GBP adding 0.20% to hit 0.8318.
Later in the day, the U.S. was to release a report on ADP non-farm payrolls, as well as data from the Institute for Supply Management on manufacturing sector activity.