Forex - EUR/USD steady to lower on strong U.S. factory data

Published 05/01/2012, 08:01 PM
Updated 05/01/2012, 08:02 PM
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Investing.com - The euro was steady to lower against the dollar on Wednesday, recovering from an earlier sell-off stemming from stronger-than-expected factory data out of the U.S.

In Asian trading on Wednesday, EUR/USD was trading flat at 1.3236, which was also a session low, and off from a high of 1.3241.

The pair was likely to test support at 1.3209, the low on April 30, and resistance at 1.3267, the high of April 30.

The U.S. Institute for Supply Management reported that its April manufacturing purchasing managers’ index surged to 54.8 in April, from 53.4 in March and well above market forecasts for a reading of 53.0.

The news doused recent expectations that the Federal Reserve would intervene in the economy via quantitative easing, a monetary stimulus tool with which the Fed  buys bonds from banks, injecting liquidity into the economy to encourage investment and hiring while weakening the dollar in the process.

Sluggish economic growth figures and jobs reports out of the U.S. fueled recent calls for quantitative easing.

The manufacturing data also sparked demand for higher-yielding assets as well like stocks, which tempered the dollar's gains.

Meanwhile in Europe, nerves remain on edge following reports that Spain has slid into a recession.

Foreign exchange markets will be a little jumpy going forward ahead of Friday's April unemployment data out of the U.S. coupled with elections in France and Greece, countries that are key in shaping the future of the eurozone.

The euro, meanwhile, was flat against the pound and up against the yen, with EUR/GBP trading at 0.8161 and EUR/JPY trading up 0.14% at 106.17.

Later Wednesday in the U.S., the ADP National Employment Report will provide a glimpse of private-sector employment and serve as a precursor to Friday's official jobs report.

The market will also watch for eurozone, French, German and Spanish manufacturing data as well as data measuring Germany's unemployment change and Italy's unemployment rate.






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