Investing.com - The euro slid against the dollar Wednesday as talks between European leaders and the world's chief lender of last resort, the International Monetary Fund, sent investors ditching the currency until policymakers agree on fresh strategies to battle and contain the debt crisis.
EUR/USD hit 1.2754 in early Asian trading Wednesday, down 0.19%, up from a session low of 1.2749 and off from a high of 1.2778.
The pair was likely to find support at 1.2743, Tuesday’s low, and resistance at 1.2818, Tuesday’s high.
In Europe on Monday, German Chancellor Angela Merkel met recently with French President Nicolas Sarkozy and later spent Tuesday with IMF Director Christine Lagarde to discuss ways to keep the currency zone alive by preventing Greece from defaulting.
Markets are awaiting policy guidance, but in the meantime, a wait-and-see approach ruled the trading session.
In the meantime, government debt yields remained high, and banks continued to stash money in overnight deposit accounts in the European Central Bank instead of using it to facilitate credit.
The market did welcome some good news on Tuesday when the Fitch Ratings agency said it probably won't downgrade France, which means Paris could stick with its AAA rating, although Italy might not be so lucky when it comes to credit revisions.
"On the basis of some current economic and fiscal trends in France... we wouldn't expect to downgrade France this year, unless there is a material deterioration in the euro zone," Ed Parker, head of EMEA sovereign ratings at Fitch, told Reuters.
Yields on 10-year Italian government bonds hovered above the 7%, a level viewed as unsustainable in the markets, while yields on Spanish 10-year bonds hit 5.57%.
In the U.K., housing and retail sales data came in better than expected.
The euro was down against the pound and also against the yen, with EUR/GBP losing 0.11% to 0.8243 and EUR/JPY falling 0.19% at 98.01.
Later Wednesday, the U.K. is to release trade balance figures, while eurozone quarterly gross domestic product numbers will be released.
Later in the day, the U.S. is to produce official data on crude oil stockpiles, while the Federal Reserve is to release its Beige Book. In addition, FOMC member Dennis Lockhart is to speak.
Chinese inflation figures are tentatively set to release as well.
EUR/USD hit 1.2754 in early Asian trading Wednesday, down 0.19%, up from a session low of 1.2749 and off from a high of 1.2778.
The pair was likely to find support at 1.2743, Tuesday’s low, and resistance at 1.2818, Tuesday’s high.
In Europe on Monday, German Chancellor Angela Merkel met recently with French President Nicolas Sarkozy and later spent Tuesday with IMF Director Christine Lagarde to discuss ways to keep the currency zone alive by preventing Greece from defaulting.
Markets are awaiting policy guidance, but in the meantime, a wait-and-see approach ruled the trading session.
In the meantime, government debt yields remained high, and banks continued to stash money in overnight deposit accounts in the European Central Bank instead of using it to facilitate credit.
The market did welcome some good news on Tuesday when the Fitch Ratings agency said it probably won't downgrade France, which means Paris could stick with its AAA rating, although Italy might not be so lucky when it comes to credit revisions.
"On the basis of some current economic and fiscal trends in France... we wouldn't expect to downgrade France this year, unless there is a material deterioration in the euro zone," Ed Parker, head of EMEA sovereign ratings at Fitch, told Reuters.
Yields on 10-year Italian government bonds hovered above the 7%, a level viewed as unsustainable in the markets, while yields on Spanish 10-year bonds hit 5.57%.
In the U.K., housing and retail sales data came in better than expected.
The euro was down against the pound and also against the yen, with EUR/GBP losing 0.11% to 0.8243 and EUR/JPY falling 0.19% at 98.01.
Later Wednesday, the U.K. is to release trade balance figures, while eurozone quarterly gross domestic product numbers will be released.
Later in the day, the U.S. is to produce official data on crude oil stockpiles, while the Federal Reserve is to release its Beige Book. In addition, FOMC member Dennis Lockhart is to speak.
Chinese inflation figures are tentatively set to release as well.