Investing.com - The euro was steady against the U.S. dollar on Tuesday, hovering close to one-month lows despite the release of positive euro zone industrial production data, as demand for the greenback remained broadly supported by U.S. rate hike hopes.
EUR/USD hit 1.0532 during European morning trade, the session low; the pair subsequently consolidated at 1.0570.
The pair was likely to find support at 1.0456, the low of March 16 and resistance at 1.0685, the high of April 10.
In a report, Eurostat, the European statistics agency said industrial production increased 1.1% in February, easily surpassing forecasts for a gain of 0.4% and after a decline of 0.3% in January.
Year-on-year, industrial production rose at a rate of 1.6% in February from a year earlier, compared to expectations for a 0.7% increase and after rising 0.4% the previous month.
The single currency has weakened broadly so far this year after the ECB unveiled a trillion-euro quantitative easing program in January. The bank started asset purchases last month, pushing euro area bond yields to new lows.
Sentiment on the euro was also hit as uncertainty over Greece’s bailout negotiations with its creditors continued to weigh.
Meanwhile, demand for the dollar remained broadly supported by expectations for higher interest rates, as investors regained confidence that the U.S. economy would continue to recover after recent economic reports pointed to a slowdown at the start of the year.
The euro was higher against the pound, with EUR/GBP rising 0.30% to 0.7222.
In the U.K., the Office of National Statistics reported that the annual rate of consumer inflation remained unchanged at a record low zero in March, unchanged from the previous month and in line with forecasts.
The ONS said that March’s consumer prices index actually dropped by 0.01%, which it rounded up to zero.
Core inflation, which strips out volatile food and energy costs, slowed to an almost nine-year low of 1.0% last month from 1.2% in February. Economists had expected underlying inflation to remain unchanged.
The Bank of England targets inflation of 2% but the recent slowdown in inflation is unlikely to prompt a monetary policy response.