Investing.com - The euro trimmed gains against the U.S. dollar on Wednesday, as disappointing GDP data for the euro zone weighed on the single currency while investors watched for progress in Greece debt talks.
EUR/USD pulled back from 1.3191, the daily high, to hit 1.3154 during European afternoon trade, still up 0.15%.
The pair was likely to find support at 1.3065, the low of February 3 and resistance at 1.3217, the high of February 1.
Eurostat said that the euro zone’s gross domestic product shrank by a seasonally adjusted 0.3% during the fourth quarter and grew by just 0 .7% during 2011 as a whole.
The report came after official data showed that Germany’s economy contracted by a less-than-expected 0.2% in the final three months of 2011 and France’s economy expanded 0.2%, confounding expectations for a 0.2% contraction, while Italy’s economy shrank by 0.7%.
The euro found support earlier after the governor of the People’s Bank of China said he believes the euro zone’s debt crisis can be solved and said that China will become more involved in efforts to resolve the crisis through mechanisms such as the European Financial Stability Facility.
Meanwhile, concerns over a potential Greek default persisted after euro zone finance ministers replaced a meeting scheduled for later in the day with a conference call, after failing to receive assurances on how Athens plans to implement austerity measures approved in a parliamentary vote on Sunday.
Elsewhere, the single currency was fractionally higher against the pound with EUR/GBP inching up 0.06%, to hit 0.8373.
Later in the day, the U.S. was to release a report on manufacturing activity in the New York region, as well as data on industrial production and the capacity utilization rate. In addition, the Federal Reserve was to publish the minutes of its most recent policy meeting.
EUR/USD pulled back from 1.3191, the daily high, to hit 1.3154 during European afternoon trade, still up 0.15%.
The pair was likely to find support at 1.3065, the low of February 3 and resistance at 1.3217, the high of February 1.
Eurostat said that the euro zone’s gross domestic product shrank by a seasonally adjusted 0.3% during the fourth quarter and grew by just 0 .7% during 2011 as a whole.
The report came after official data showed that Germany’s economy contracted by a less-than-expected 0.2% in the final three months of 2011 and France’s economy expanded 0.2%, confounding expectations for a 0.2% contraction, while Italy’s economy shrank by 0.7%.
The euro found support earlier after the governor of the People’s Bank of China said he believes the euro zone’s debt crisis can be solved and said that China will become more involved in efforts to resolve the crisis through mechanisms such as the European Financial Stability Facility.
Meanwhile, concerns over a potential Greek default persisted after euro zone finance ministers replaced a meeting scheduled for later in the day with a conference call, after failing to receive assurances on how Athens plans to implement austerity measures approved in a parliamentary vote on Sunday.
Elsewhere, the single currency was fractionally higher against the pound with EUR/GBP inching up 0.06%, to hit 0.8373.
Later in the day, the U.S. was to release a report on manufacturing activity in the New York region, as well as data on industrial production and the capacity utilization rate. In addition, the Federal Reserve was to publish the minutes of its most recent policy meeting.