Investing.com - The euro slid against a firming dollar after industry data revealed the private sector picked up more jobs in October than expected, data that offset a lackluster report on U.S. service-sector activity.
In U.S. trading, EUR/USD was down 0.52% at 1.2478, up from a session low of 1.2458 and off a high of 1.2567.
The pair was likely to find support at 1.2441, Monday's low, and resistance at 1.2578, Tuesday's high.
Payroll processing firm ADP reported earlier that non-farm private employment rose by 230,000 last month, beating expectations for an increase of 220,000.
The economy created 225,000 jobs in September, whose figure was upwardly revised from a previously reported 213,000.
While not always as a reliable predecessor for the government's official jobs report, the latest due out on Friday, Nov. 7, the ADP report does offer guidance on private-sector hiring, and Wednesday's report offset data revealing that service-sector activity in the U.S. grew at its slowest rate in four months in October.
The Institute of Supply Management reported earlier that its non-manufacturing purchasing managers' index fell to 57.1 in October from a 58.6 in September. Analysts had expected the index to inch down to 58.0 in October.
The Non-Manufacturing Business Activity Index decreased to 60.0 from September's 62.9 reading.
The New Orders Index fell to 59.1 from September's 61.0 reading.
The Employment Index increased 1.1 points to 59.6 from the September reading of 58.5 and indicates growth for the eighth consecutive month, which supported the greenback as well.
On the index, a reading above 50.0 indicates the non-manufacturing sector economy is generally expanding, below 50.0 indicates the sector is contracting.
According to the report, 16 non-manufacturing industries reported growth in October.
The euro, meanwhile, held lower as investors awaited the European Central Bank's latest decision on interest rates and monetary policy this Thursday.
The ECB was widely expected to keep monetary policy unchanged, but the Bank of Japan’s surprise stimulus move on Friday fueled expectations that it will soon follow suit in order to spur growth and inflation in the euro area.
Elsewhere, the euro was down against the pound, with EUR/GBP down 0.34% at 0.7813, and up against the yen, with EUR/JPY up 0.47% at 143.17.