Investing.com - The euro edged higher against the dollar on Tuesday as investors looked ahead to a European Central Bank meeting later in the week amid speculation that it could flag plans to enlarge its stimulus program.
EUR/USD eased up 0.15% to 1.1342, pulling back from Monday’s one-week lows of 1.1305.
The single currency has come under pressure since ECB governing council member Ewald Nowotny said late last week that additional measures to boost price growth in the euro zone are needed.
Data on Friday confirmed that the rate of inflation in the euro area turned negative in September for the first time since the ECB launched its easing program in March.
The ECB launched its €60 billion-a-month asset purchase program to combat persistently low inflation in the euro area and it is set to run until at least September 2016.
The euro was also higher against the yen and was steady against the pound, with EUR/JPY rising 0.28% to 135.72 and EUR/GBP at 0.7316.
The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, slid 0.17% to 94.85, but still remained well supported above last Wednesday’s seven-week lows.
Investors remained uncertain as to whether the Federal Reserve will raise interest rates before the end of the year or will keep monetary policy on hold for longer.
The dollar was slightly higher against the yen, with USD/JPY rising 0.15% to 119.66.
The greenback edged lower against the Canadian dollar, coming off overnight highs hit after Canada elected its first Liberal government in almost a decade late Monday, sparking uncertainty over the economic outlook.
USD/CAD dipped 0.12% to 1.3004 after rising to one-week highs of 1.3048 late Monday.