Investing.com - The euro eased back from three-month lows against the dollar on Wednesday but remained under pressure after a senior European Central Bank policymaker said Tuesday that the bank’s forward guidance on interest rates extended beyond 12 months.
EUR/USD hit 1.2766 during late Asian trade, the session low; the pair subsequently consolidated at 1.2793, gaining 0.11%.
The pair was likely to find short-term support at 1.2754, Tuesday’s low and a three-month low and resistance at 1.2845.
The euro weakened across the board on Tuesday after ECB executive board member Jorg Asmussen said the central bank may keep interest rates at record lows for more than 12 months.
The comments came after ECB President Mario Draghi said last week that rates would remain at low levels for an “extended” period, amid ongoing weakness in the euro zone economy.
On Tuesday, the International Monetary Fund said it expects the euro zone economy to contract by 0.6% this year, down from the 0.4% contraction it forecast in April. The IMF also cut its forecast for global growth this year to 3.1%, from 3.3% in April.
Demand for the dollar continued to be underpinned by expectations that the Federal Reserve will start to unwind stimulus measures as the economy continues to pick up.
Safe haven demand was boosted after Chinese trade data on Wednesday showed that exports fell unexpectedly in June from a year earlier, fuelling concerns over a slowdown in global demand. Imports were also lower on a year-over-year basis, indicating that domestic demand was weakening.
The euro edged lower against the pound, with EUR/GBP dipping 0.08% to 0.8589 and fell to eight-day lows against the yen, with EUR/JPY down 0.51% to 128.62.
The Fed was to release the minutes of its June policy meeting later in the trading day, while a speech by Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke was also in focus.
