Forex Pros – The euro extended gains against the U.S. dollar on Tuesday, after an array of upbeat Chinese economic data boosted market sentiment but the single currency remained under pressure as uncertainty over a bailout for Greece continued.
EUR/USD hit 1.4472 during European late morning trade, the pair’s highest since Friday; the pair subsequently consolidated at 1.4445, rising 0.22%.
The pair was likely to find support at 1.4319, Monday’s low and a seven-day low and resistance at 1.4550, Friday’s high.
Earlier in the day, Chinese government data showed that consumer price inflation rose at an annualized rate of 5.5% in May, broadly in line with expectations. Meanwhile, retail sales came in slightly higher than forecast and industrial output was slightly lower.
The data eased concerns that Beijing would continue to tighten monetary policy in an effort to contain spiraling inflation.
Elsewhere, Greece successfully auctioned EUR1.625 billion of six-month Treasury bills just one day after Standard & Poor’s downgraded Greece’s sovereign debt rating, making the country it’s lowest-rated in the world.
The cost of insuring Greek debt against default over five years rose, while the yield on Greek government bonds surged to a record high.
The euro also inched higher against the pound, with EUR/GBP easing up 0.03% to hit 0.8805.
Later Tuesday, the U.S. was to publish official data on retail sales and producer price inflation.
ForexPros.com
