(RTTNews) - The dollar leveled off versus the euro Wednesday morning, as European officials scrambled keep a plans for a sovereign debt bailout package on track.
Two days after being blindsided by Greek PM George Papandreou's call for a public referendum on the rescue package, French PM Nicolas Sarkozy and German Chancellor Angela Merkel are expected to conduct emergency meetings with Papandreou in Cannes.
World leaders are on their way to the French Riviera for Friday's G-20 summit. While the European sovereign debt crisis is front and center on the agenda, many will be paying close attention to today's remarks from U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke for clues about the health of the world's largest economy.
The dollar eased to $1.38 versus the euro, almost 2 cents from Monday's highest levels near $1.36. Still, the buck remains well away from a 7-week low of $1.4246 set last Thursday.
The buck barely budged for a second day versus the yen, holding at Y78. The Bank of Japan intervened to weaken the yen over the weekend, after the dollar touched a record low Y75.55.
The dollar stayed about 2 cents above par versus its Canadian counterpart, and was hovering near $1.60 versus the sterling.
The ADP National Employment report, which sheds light on non-farm private employment, is scheduled to be released at 8:15 am ET. Economists expect the sector to have added 100,000 jobs in October following an addition of 91,000 jobs in September.
The Federal Open Market Committee is set to release its post-meeting policy statement at 12:15 pm ET following the conclusion of a 2-day meeting. Bernanke will host a press briefing at 2:30 am ET.
Germany's factory sector shrunk less than estimated earlier in October, final results of a survey by Markit Economics showed Wednesday.
The Markit/BME Germany Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) fell to 49.1 from September's 50.3. The final reading came in better than the flash reading of 48.9.
Eurozone manufacturing activity contracted more than initially estimated in October, final report from Markit Economics showed Wednesday.
The purchasing managers' index for the managers' index for the manufacturing sector fell to 47.1 in October from 48.5 in September. This was below the flash estimate of 47.3.
