Investing.com - The euro held steady against its U.S. counterpart on Tuesday, after the release of relatively positive U.S. durable goods orders data did little to support the greenback.
EUR/USD hit 1.3626 during European afternoon trade, the session low; the pair subsequently consolidated at 1.3639, easing 0.05%.
The pair was likely to find support at 1.3585, the low of February 13 and resistance at 1.3687, the high of May 22.
Official data showed that U.S. core durable goods orders, which exclude transportation items, rose 0.1% last month, below expectations for a 0.3% increase. Core durable goods orders in March were revised up to a 2.9% gain from a previously estimated 2.4% rise.
U.S. durable goods orders rose 0.8% in April, confounding expectations for a 0.5% fall, after a 3.6% increase in March, whose figure was revised up from a previously estimated 2.9% rise.
Meanwhile, investors awaited further comments by European Central Bank President Mario Draghi later in the day, after he said on Monday that the bank saw a risk of a deflationary cycle taking hold in the euro zone.
Draghi said the ECB is ready to act should it see signs of a negative inflation spiral taking hold, and indicated that the bank is weighing a wide range of policy options, including interest rate cuts, and liquidity injections or broad-based asset purchases to help shore up the fragile recovery in the euro area.
The comments were made at the new ECB annual conference in Sintra, Portugal.
The euro was higher against the pound, with EUR/GBP edging up 0.12% to 0.8111.
Also Tuesday, industry data showed that U.K. mortgage approvals rose by 42,200 last month, compared to expectations for a 45,200 increase. Mortgage approvals in March were revised down to a 45,000 rise from a previously estimated 45,900 increase.
Later in the day, the U.S. was to produce data on house price inflation and consumer confidence.