Investing.com - The euro was unchanged against the U.S. dollar in subdued year-end trade on Wednesday, as concerns over the worsening debt crisis in the euro zone persisted ahead of Italian bond auctions later in the day.
EUR/USD hit 1.3057 during late Asian trade, the daily low; the pair subsequently consolidated at 1.3065, edging down 0.03%.
The pair was likely to find support at 1.2992, the low of December 20 and resistance at 1.3118, the high of December 22.
With most investors already away on year-end leave, trading volumes were low, resulting in subdued trade.
Italy was scheduled to sell EUR9 billion euros of 179-day bills and EUR2.5 billion euros of zero-coupon 2013 securities later Wednesday. The country will also auction EUR8.5 billion euros of debt due in 2014, 2018, 2021 and 2022 on Thursday.
Ahead of the auctions, the yield on Italy’s ten-year bonds remained slightly below the 7% threshold, a level widely considered unsustainable and above which other euro zone governments had been forced to seek bailouts.
Elsewhere, the euro was fractionally higher against the U.S. dollar with EUR/GBP easing up 0.02, to hit 0.8342.
Data showed on Tuesday that U.S. consumer confidence climbed to the highest level since April, while the S&P/Case-Shiller home price index fell more-than-expected in October, declining for the 16th consecutive month.
EUR/USD hit 1.3057 during late Asian trade, the daily low; the pair subsequently consolidated at 1.3065, edging down 0.03%.
The pair was likely to find support at 1.2992, the low of December 20 and resistance at 1.3118, the high of December 22.
With most investors already away on year-end leave, trading volumes were low, resulting in subdued trade.
Italy was scheduled to sell EUR9 billion euros of 179-day bills and EUR2.5 billion euros of zero-coupon 2013 securities later Wednesday. The country will also auction EUR8.5 billion euros of debt due in 2014, 2018, 2021 and 2022 on Thursday.
Ahead of the auctions, the yield on Italy’s ten-year bonds remained slightly below the 7% threshold, a level widely considered unsustainable and above which other euro zone governments had been forced to seek bailouts.
Elsewhere, the euro was fractionally higher against the U.S. dollar with EUR/GBP easing up 0.02, to hit 0.8342.
Data showed on Tuesday that U.S. consumer confidence climbed to the highest level since April, while the S&P/Case-Shiller home price index fell more-than-expected in October, declining for the 16th consecutive month.