Forexpros – The euro was steady against the U.S. dollar on Wednesday, as investors looked ahead to the conclusion of the Federal Reserve’s policy meeting later in the day, amid speculation over more easing from the central bank.
EUR/USD hit 1.2694 during late Asian trade, the session high; the pair subsequently consolidated at 1.2688, inching up 0.03%.
The pair was likely to find support at 1.2567, Tuesday’s low and near-term resistance at 1.2746, Monday’s high and a one-month high.
Market participants were focused on the Fed’s policy decision to be announced later Wednesday, amid growing expectations for fresh quantitative easing measures after a recent string of weak economic data.
In the euro zone, the yield on Spanish 10-year bonds eased back to just below the critical 7% threshold, after climbing to euro-era highs earlier in the week, amid fears that Madrid will be forced to seek a full-fledged international bailout.
Meanwhile, investors remained hopeful that Greece’s New Democracy party would form a coalition government with the socialist Pasok party, which would allow Athens to resume negotiations with creditors on its international bailout deal.
The euro was fractionally lower against the pound and the yen, with EUR/GBP inching down 0.06% to hit 0.8060 and EUR/JPY dipping 0.02% to hit 100.13.
Later Wednesday, the Federal Reserve was to announce its benchmark interest rate and publish its rate statement. The announcement was to be followed by a press conference with Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke to discuss the monetary policy decision.
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