Investing.com – The euro trimmed gains against the U.S. dollar on Thursday, after the European Central Bank unexpectedly cut its key interest rate, while Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou was expected to resign later in the day.
EUR/USD retreated from 1.3834, the pair’s highest since Tuesday, to hit 1.3765 during European afternoon trade, still up 0.13%.
The pair was likely to find support at 1.3582, the low of October 12 and resistance at 1.3827, Wednesday’s high.
The ECB cut its benchmark interest rate from 1.5% to 1.25%, as the region’s escalating debt crisis overshadowed concerns over persistently high inflation.
Meanwhile, Mr. Papandreou’s government was on the brink of collapse after several ministers said they did not support his plan for a referendum on the bailout agreement for Greece, agreed on last week.
The euro had strengthened broadly earlier, amid speculation that the referendum could be cancelled, ahead of a vote of confidence in Prime Minister Papandreou’s government on Friday.
On Wednesday, French and German leaders told Greece it will not receive any more financial aid until it decides it wants to remain within the euro zone and warned that Greece will surrender all European aid if it votes against the bailout deal.
In the U.S., the Department of Labor said earlier that jobless claims rose less-than-expected last week, climbing by 397,000 after a 406,000 increase the previous week. Analysts had expected jobless claims to rise by 401,000 last week.
Elsewhere, the euro was lower against the pound, with EUR/GBP shedding 0.38% to hit 0.8588.
Later Thursday, new ECB President Mario Draghi was to chair his first post policy-meeting press conference, while the U.S. was to release a report on service sector activity from the Institute of Supply Management.
EUR/USD retreated from 1.3834, the pair’s highest since Tuesday, to hit 1.3765 during European afternoon trade, still up 0.13%.
The pair was likely to find support at 1.3582, the low of October 12 and resistance at 1.3827, Wednesday’s high.
The ECB cut its benchmark interest rate from 1.5% to 1.25%, as the region’s escalating debt crisis overshadowed concerns over persistently high inflation.
Meanwhile, Mr. Papandreou’s government was on the brink of collapse after several ministers said they did not support his plan for a referendum on the bailout agreement for Greece, agreed on last week.
The euro had strengthened broadly earlier, amid speculation that the referendum could be cancelled, ahead of a vote of confidence in Prime Minister Papandreou’s government on Friday.
On Wednesday, French and German leaders told Greece it will not receive any more financial aid until it decides it wants to remain within the euro zone and warned that Greece will surrender all European aid if it votes against the bailout deal.
In the U.S., the Department of Labor said earlier that jobless claims rose less-than-expected last week, climbing by 397,000 after a 406,000 increase the previous week. Analysts had expected jobless claims to rise by 401,000 last week.
Elsewhere, the euro was lower against the pound, with EUR/GBP shedding 0.38% to hit 0.8588.
Later Thursday, new ECB President Mario Draghi was to chair his first post policy-meeting press conference, while the U.S. was to release a report on service sector activity from the Institute of Supply Management.