Investing.com - The euro pared gains against the U.S. dollar on Tuesday, pulling back from a 12-week high, following reports that Ireland is to hold a referendum on the new European Union fiscal compact.
EUR/USD pulled back from 1.3462, the session high, to hit 1.3401 in early U.S. trade, up just 0.03%
The pair was likely to find support at 1.3356, last Friday’s low and resistance at 1.3485, Friday’s high and a 12-week high.
The euro’s losses came after Ireland’s prime minister confirmed that the country is to hold a referendum in the coming weeks on the European Fiscal Compact Treaty, which proposes harsh new budgetary discipline on each euro zone state, including near-zero public deficits.
The euro had remained steady against the greenback earlier, after data painted a mixed picture of the economic recovery in the U.S.
The Conference Board said that its index of U.S. consumer confidence jumped to a 12-month high this month, rising to 70.8 from a reading of 61.5 in January and far outstripping expectations for a gain to 63.0.
Meanwhile, the Commerce Department said U.S. orders for long lasting manufactured goods fell by the most in three years in January.
Durable goods orders dropped 4.0% after rising by 2.1% in December, far worse than forecasts for a 0.8% decline, while core durable goods orders, which excludes transportation items, tumbled by a seasonally adjusted 3.2% in January, confounding expectations for a flat reading.
A separate report showed that U.S. home prices fell more-than-expected in December, declining for the 18th consecutive month.
But sentiment on the single currency remained supported as investors looked ahead to Wednesday's launch of the European Central Bank’s second three-year long-term refinancing operation, after a similar cash injection in December averted a credit crunch and eased pressure on peripheral euro zone bond markets.
Portugal’s finance minister said earlier that his country had passed the third review of its EUR78 billion bailout by the troika, which is composed of the ECB, EU and International Monetary Fund, and added that the country’s fiscal targets for 2012 would be met in spite of deteriorating domestic economic conditions.
The euro was higher against the pound and the yen, with EUR/GBP easing up 0.12% to hit 0.8475 and EUR/JPY rising 0.14% to hit 108.12.
Also Tuesday, official data showed that consumer price inflation in Germany rose more-than-expected in February, accelerating by 0.7%, compared to expectations for a more modest increase of 0.5%.
EUR/USD pulled back from 1.3462, the session high, to hit 1.3401 in early U.S. trade, up just 0.03%
The pair was likely to find support at 1.3356, last Friday’s low and resistance at 1.3485, Friday’s high and a 12-week high.
The euro’s losses came after Ireland’s prime minister confirmed that the country is to hold a referendum in the coming weeks on the European Fiscal Compact Treaty, which proposes harsh new budgetary discipline on each euro zone state, including near-zero public deficits.
The euro had remained steady against the greenback earlier, after data painted a mixed picture of the economic recovery in the U.S.
The Conference Board said that its index of U.S. consumer confidence jumped to a 12-month high this month, rising to 70.8 from a reading of 61.5 in January and far outstripping expectations for a gain to 63.0.
Meanwhile, the Commerce Department said U.S. orders for long lasting manufactured goods fell by the most in three years in January.
Durable goods orders dropped 4.0% after rising by 2.1% in December, far worse than forecasts for a 0.8% decline, while core durable goods orders, which excludes transportation items, tumbled by a seasonally adjusted 3.2% in January, confounding expectations for a flat reading.
A separate report showed that U.S. home prices fell more-than-expected in December, declining for the 18th consecutive month.
But sentiment on the single currency remained supported as investors looked ahead to Wednesday's launch of the European Central Bank’s second three-year long-term refinancing operation, after a similar cash injection in December averted a credit crunch and eased pressure on peripheral euro zone bond markets.
Portugal’s finance minister said earlier that his country had passed the third review of its EUR78 billion bailout by the troika, which is composed of the ECB, EU and International Monetary Fund, and added that the country’s fiscal targets for 2012 would be met in spite of deteriorating domestic economic conditions.
The euro was higher against the pound and the yen, with EUR/GBP easing up 0.12% to hit 0.8475 and EUR/JPY rising 0.14% to hit 108.12.
Also Tuesday, official data showed that consumer price inflation in Germany rose more-than-expected in February, accelerating by 0.7%, compared to expectations for a more modest increase of 0.5%.