Investing.com - The euro fell to session lows against the dollar on Thursday after data showed that euro zone private sector output slowed in November, clouding the outlook for fourth quarter growth.
EUR/USD hit lows of 1.2504 and was last down 0.33% to 1.2510.
Research group Markit reported that the euro zone’s services purchasing managers’ index fell to 51.3, while the manufacturing PMI slid to 50.4 from 50.6 in October.
The report said the PMI surveys pointed to economic growth of just 0.1% to 0.2% in the current quarter.
Germany private sector activity fell to a 16-month low this month, as factory output stalled.
The country’s manufacturing PMI fell to 50 and service sector activity also slowed, with the PMI dropping to 52.1 from 54.4.
French private sector output contracted for the seventh consecutive month, with the manufacturing PMI falling to a three-month low of 47.6 and the services PMI ticking up to 48.8 from 48.3 in October, still well below the 50 level showing contraction.
Data released earlier Thursday showed that China’s HSBC manufacturing PMI fell to a six-month low of 50.0 this month from a final reading of 50.4 in October and well below the 50.3 forecast by economists.
The weak data added to gloom over the outlook for the global economy.
The euro pared back gains against the yen, with EUR/JPY up 0.29% to 148.46, off the six-year peaks of 149.14 struck earlier in the session.
The yen remained under heavy selling pressure after Wednesday’s Federal Reserve minutes highlighted the diverging policy outlook between it and its peers in Japan and Europe.
The minutes of the Fed’s October meeting indicated that officials believe the economic recovery is strong enough to withstand external threats to growth, but offered little additional clarity about when rates could start to rise.
Markets are currently expecting the U.S. central bank to start raising rates sometime around September 2015. In contrast, the Bank of Japan and the European Central Bank are expected to continue monetary easing in order to shore up growth and inflation.
Elsewhere, the euro also fell to session lows against sterling, with EUR/GBP slipping 0.11% to 0.7995.