-- Euro slides amid dearth of news -- Aussie dollar pressured as rate cut talk builds, China growth fears weigh -- Romania cuts rates, Czech Republic leaves rates on hold; South Africa decision pending By Eva Szalay Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES LONDON (Dow Jones)--The euro fell against the dollar in late European trading after a sleepy start to the session, while the Australian dollar remained under pressure amid questions over whether the country's central bank will cut interest rates at its meeting next week. The single currency fell sharply in what traders described as a technical move, attempting to push through support at $1.3280 in the absence of fresh news drivers. "It's a tactic that traders use. Every time there is a lack of drama and they get bored they identify key pinch points and attempt to have a go," said Daragh Maher a currency strategist at HSBC in London. This also weighed on the Australian dollar, which turned negative against the greenback. In earlier Asian trade, the Australian currency fared badly as traders flocked to the safety of the yen after weaker-than-expected U.S. durable goods orders data late Wednesday spoilt the improved U.S. economic outlook and pushed equities into the red. "Asian markets picked up where U.S. markets left off and the overnight price action has had a distinct air of risk-off about it," said Royal Bank of Canada Capital Markets in a note to clients. The bank noted that momentum is slowly building behind the view that the Reserve Bank of Australia might cut its key rate next week by a quarter of a percentage point, although the consensus is still for no change. Concerns over Chinese growth also continued to weigh on sentiment. "Most of the price action is concentrated on the Aussie. People just want to be more defensive right now," said Geoffrey Yu, a currency strategist at UBS in London. Data in European hours showed another improvement in German unemployment, but a survey by the European Commission said confidence amongst construction firms in the euro zone has deteriorated, though neither indicator moved the market. Meanwhile, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development noted that the European and North American economies will decouple in the first half of this year, with the former experiencing sluggish growth due to fiscal cuts and the latter seeing "robust" expansion. In emerging markets, Romania cut its rates by 0.25 percentage point to 5.25%, which briefly weighed on the leu, while the Czech Republic kept rates unchanged; South Africa is due to announce its rate decision at 1300 GMT. The Turkish lira continued to outperform its peers against the dollar, while the Swedish krona traded sharply higher after retail sales from showed a 3.4% increase on the year in February. At 1136 GMT the euro was trading at $1.3284 compared to $1.3317 and it was trading at Y109.27 from Y110.36, according to EBS via CQG. The pound was at $1.5878 compared to $1.5890 and the dollar was at Y82.25 from Y82.90. The euro was at SEK8.8469 compared to SEK8.8680. A summary of key levels for chart-watching technical strategists: Forex spot: EUR/USD USD/JPY GBP/USD USD/CHF Spot 1036 GMT 1.3285 82.29 1.5879 0.9071 3 Day Trend Bearish Range Range Bullish Weekly Trend Range Bullish Bullish Bearish 200 day ma 1.3452 79.27 1.5815 0.9072 3rd Resistance 1.3415 82.97 1.6044 0.9136 2nd Resistance 1.3385 82.60 1.6001 0.9118 1st Resistance 1.3346 82.48 1.5934 0.9083 Pivot* 1.3323 82.91 1.5898 0.9050 1st Support 1.3273 82.24 1.5841 0.9032 2nd Support 1.3232 82.15 1.5802 0.9016 3rd Support 1.3192 81.97 1.5770 0.8931 Forex spot: AUD/USD Spot 1036 GMT 1.0350 3 Day Trend Bearish Weekly Trend Bearish 200 day ma 1.0384 3rd Resistance 1.0560 2nd Resistance 1.0447 1st Resistance 1.0397 Pivot* 1.0403 1st Support 1.0332 2nd Support 1.0258 3rd Support 1.0205

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