Forexpros – The euro was steady against the U.S. dollar on Thursday, following a second day of testimony by Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke, as investors looked ahead to a flurry of U.S. data later in the day.
EUR/USD hit 1.2275 during late Asian trade, the session low; the pair subsequently consolidated at 1.2284, inching up 0.01%.
The pair was likely to find support at 1.2174, the low of July 16 and near-term resistance at 1.2315, the high of July 7.
In a second day of testimony on the economy and monetary policy, Bernanke reiterated that the U.S. central bank was prepared to take further action to support the economic recovery if necessary, without indicating whether the Fed will embark on a third round of quantitative easing.
The euro remained under pressure after German Chancellor Angela Merkel said Wednesday that she was not certain the European project would be successful, before adding that she was optimistic in spite of the current difficulties.
Meanwhile, the yield on Spanish 10-year bonds was at 6.97%, hovering close to the critical 7% threshold, widely viewed as unsustainable in the long run, amid sustained concerns over Madrid’s finances.
The euro was hovering close to a three-and-a-half year low against the pound, with EUR/GBP inching up 0.03% to 0.7847 and was weaker against the yen, with EUR/JPY down 0.22% to 96.55.
Later Thursday, the U.S. was to publish government data on initial jobless claims, as well as reports on existing home sales and manufacturing activity in Philadelphia.
Forexpros
