Forexpros – The euro edged higher against the U.S. dollar on Tuesday, but gains were limited as investors remained cautious ahead of highly anticipated economic growth data from the euro zone as well as a string of U.S. reports.
EUR/USD hit 1.2361 during late Asian trade, the daily high; the pair subsequently consolidated at 1.2364, rising 0.26%.
The pair was likely to find support at 1.2260, Monday’s low and resistance at 1.2441, the high if August 7.
Hopes for fresh action from the European Central Bank to shore up growth continued to support the single currency, while recent weak data out of China and Japan added to speculation that other central banks may turn to fresh easing measures.
Meanwhile, investors were eyeing the release of euro zone growth data later in the day, after a report earlier showed that Germany’s economy grew unexpectedly in the second quarter.
Germany’s gross domestic product expanded by 0.3% in the three months to June, beating expectations for a 0.2% expansion and following an expansion of 0.5% in the first quarter.
A separate report showed that France’s economy stagnated in the second quarter, beating expectations for a 0.1% contraction.
Elsewhere, the euro was higher against the pound with EUR/GBP adding 0.18%, to hit 0.7876.
Later in the day, the euro zone was to release official data on industrial production as well as preliminary data on second quarter gross domestic product. In addition, the ZEW Centre for Economic Research was to publish a report on economic sentiment in Germany and throughout the single currency bloc.
The U.S. was to publish official data on retail sales and producer price inflation, followed by data on business inventories.