Forexpros – The euro was almost unchanged against the yen on Wednesday, trading close to a six-week low following the release of lackluster U.S. data while mounting concerns over the debt crisis in the euro zone also weighed.
EUR/JPY hit 103.27 during European afternoon trade, the pair’s lowest since Monday; the pair subsequently consolidated at 103.41, shedding 0.51%.
The pair was likely to find support at 102.55, the low of October 7 and resistance at 104.11, the days high.
Official data showed that new orders for a range of long-lasting U.S. manufactured goods unexpectedly rose in October, but the previous month’s number was revised down sharply.
The Commerce Department said durable goods orders, excluding transportation rose 0.7% after a downwardly revised 0.6% increase in September. Analysts had expected the number to remain unchanged from the previously reported 1.8% increase.
Overall orders fell 0.7% after declining 1.5% in September.
In a separate report, the Labor Department said number of people who filed for unemployment assistance in the U.S. last week rose unexpectedly, climbing to a seasonally adjusted 393,000, confounding expectations for a decline to 390,000.
Market sentiment was hit earlier after Germany’s Treasury auctioned just EUR3.64 billion of 10-year government bonds with the average yield set at 1.98%. Total bids for German debt fell short of the maximum amount available by 35%, the worst demand on record.
The auction came after preliminary data showing that the euro zone manufacturing purchasing managers’ index slumped to the lowest level since July 2009 in November, falling to 46.4 from 47.1 in October.
A separate report showed that industrial orders in the euro zone fell significantly more-than-expected in September.
The euro was also sharply lower against the U.S. dollar, with EUR/USD tumbling 0.80% to hit 1.3396.
Also Wednesday, fears over France’s AAA credit rating mounted, following reports that Belgium and France were in fresh talks over an existing rescue deal for troubled lender Dexia, sparking concerns that France would have to take a larger part in the bailout.
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