Investing.com - The euro remained higher against the U.S. dollar on Wednesday, after the release of tepid U.S. data on durable goods orders, as investors turned to U.S. new home sales data later in the day amid ongoing uncertainty over the Federal Reserve's next monetary policy moves.
EUR/USD hit 1.3520 during European afternoon trade, the pair's highest since Monday; the pair subsequently consolidated at 1.3502, adding 0.22%.
The pair was likely to find support at 1.3338, the low of September 18 and resistance at 1.3568, the high of September 18 and am eight-month high.
In a report, the Census Bureau said that U.S. core durable goods orders, excluding transportation items, fell 0.1% in August, disappointing expectations for a 1% increase, after an upwardly revised 0.5% rise the previous month.
Durable goods orders in the U.S. rose 0.1% lasr month, compared to expectations for a 0.2% increase, following a downwardly revised 8.1% decline in July.
The data came as investors remained cautious following last week’s unexpected decision by the Federal Reserve to keep its USD85 billion-a-month asset purchase program on track.
The Fed said it wanted to see more evidence of a sustained economic recovery before it reduced stimulus. The decision surprised markets, which had been expecting a modest reduction in bond buying.
Data on Tuesday underlined concerns over the outlook for the U.S. economic recovery. U.S. house prices were higher in July, but consumer confidence slipped lower in September, amid fears over whether economic momentum can be maintained in the months ahead.
The euro found support earlier, after data showed that German consumer confidence is seen rising to the highest level since June 2007 in October.
The forward looking GfK index of German consumer confidence rose to 7.1, and this month’s reading was revised up from 6.9 to 7.
The euro was fractionally lower against the pound with EUR/GBP edging down 0.07%, to hit 0.8412.
Also Wednesday, a report compiled by the Confederation of British Industry showed that its retail sales index rose to 34.0 in September from 27.0 last month, the highest level since June 2012.
Analysts had expected the index to decline to 24.0.
Later in the day, the U.S. was to release a report on new home sales.
EUR/USD hit 1.3520 during European afternoon trade, the pair's highest since Monday; the pair subsequently consolidated at 1.3502, adding 0.22%.
The pair was likely to find support at 1.3338, the low of September 18 and resistance at 1.3568, the high of September 18 and am eight-month high.
In a report, the Census Bureau said that U.S. core durable goods orders, excluding transportation items, fell 0.1% in August, disappointing expectations for a 1% increase, after an upwardly revised 0.5% rise the previous month.
Durable goods orders in the U.S. rose 0.1% lasr month, compared to expectations for a 0.2% increase, following a downwardly revised 8.1% decline in July.
The data came as investors remained cautious following last week’s unexpected decision by the Federal Reserve to keep its USD85 billion-a-month asset purchase program on track.
The Fed said it wanted to see more evidence of a sustained economic recovery before it reduced stimulus. The decision surprised markets, which had been expecting a modest reduction in bond buying.
Data on Tuesday underlined concerns over the outlook for the U.S. economic recovery. U.S. house prices were higher in July, but consumer confidence slipped lower in September, amid fears over whether economic momentum can be maintained in the months ahead.
The euro found support earlier, after data showed that German consumer confidence is seen rising to the highest level since June 2007 in October.
The forward looking GfK index of German consumer confidence rose to 7.1, and this month’s reading was revised up from 6.9 to 7.
The euro was fractionally lower against the pound with EUR/GBP edging down 0.07%, to hit 0.8412.
Also Wednesday, a report compiled by the Confederation of British Industry showed that its retail sales index rose to 34.0 in September from 27.0 last month, the highest level since June 2012.
Analysts had expected the index to decline to 24.0.
Later in the day, the U.S. was to release a report on new home sales.