Investing.com - The euro was moderately higher against the U.S. dollar on Thursday, despite the release of downbeat data from Germany, as sentiment on the greenback remained fragile ahead of a speech by Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen due on Friday.
EUR/USD hit 1.1280 during European morning trade, the session high; the pair subsequently consolidated at 1.1272, up 0.08%.
The pair was likely to find support at 1.1239, the low of August 17 and resistance at 1.1316, Wednesday’s high.
Data earlier showed that the German Ifo Business Climate Index fell to 106.2 this month from a reading of 108.3 in July, missing forecasts for a rise to 108.5.
Meanwhile, the greenback remained under pressure as market participants waited to see if Yellen will restate the hawkish view of the economy expressed by Fed officials last week or echo the minutes of the Fed’s July meeting, which indicated that officials are divided on when to raise rates.
Investors were also looking ahead to reports on U.S. jobless claims and durables goods orders, due later Thursday, for further indications on the strength of the economy.
The euro was higher against the pound, with EUR/GBP adding 0.20% to 0.8529.