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Forex - EUR/USD dips as debt ceiling fears spark greenback demand

Published 01/15/2013, 01:55 PM
Updated 01/15/2013, 01:56 PM
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Investing.com - The euro moved lower against the U.S. dollar on Tuesday even after retail sales surprised in the U.S., as investors shrugged off the good news and avoided risk by remaining in safe-haven dollar positions.

Fears brinkmanship may arise during the upcoming U.S. debt-ceiling debates similar to 2011, when the U.S. nearly defaulted, quelled appetite for higher-yielding asset classes.
In U.S. trading on Tuesday, EUR/USD was trading down 0.27% at 1.3346, up from a session low of 1.3311, and off from a high of 1.3394.

The pair was likely to find support at 1.3037, the low from Jan. 9, and resistance at 1.3404, Monday's high.

The euro and other risk-on asset classes saw some demand earlier after the U.S. Commerce Department reported that retail sales rose 0.5% in December, far outpacing expectations for a 0.2% gain.

A separate report showed that producer prices in the U.S. fell 0.2% last month compared to expectations for a 0.1% decline.

However, the news failed to entice many out of the safety of the greenback over fears markets may roil as the U.S. government approaches its USD16.4 trillion debt ceiling, likely sometime by late February.

President Barack Obama on Monday urged Republicans to agree to lift the borrowing limit though he stopped short of offering concrete concessions in return, sparking fears the brinkmanship that marked the 2011 debt ceiling debates will return next month.

Also in the U.S., the Empire State manufacturing index declined to -7.8 in January from a reading of -7.3 in December. 

Analysts had expected the index to improve to 2.0 this month.

Meanwhile in Europe, preliminary data revealed that Germany’s economy, the eurozone's largest, contracted by 0.5% in the fourth quarter, bringing the annual rate of growth to 0.7%, much slower than the 3% growth rate posted in 2011.

Another separate report showed that the eurozone trade surplus widened to EUR11 billion in November from EUR7.4 billion in October, as exports rose 5%.

The euro, meanwhile, was down against the pound and down against the yen, with EUR/GBP trading down 0.39% at 0.8292, and EUR/JPY trading down 1.17% at 118.33.

On Wednesday, the eurozone will release its latest consumer price index, while Germany is to hold an auction of 10-year government bonds.

The U.S., meanwhile, is to produce government data on consumer inflation as well as data on industrial production and the capacity utilization rate.

The country will publish official data on crude oil stockpiles, while the Federal Reserve is to publish its Beige Book, which analyzes current economic conditions.





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