20 August 2003, 11:12  Euro off low but pressured in late trade

The euro remained under pressure in late trade but came off session lows after a disappointing US consumer confidence reading. At 1700, the single currency stood at USD1.1110 and STG0.6999. The University of Michigan consumer confidence survey fell to 90.2 in August from July's 90.9 to disappoint the market which had been expecting a rise to 91.4. The news helped lift the euro which had earlier slumped to three and a half month lows and a day low so far of USD1.1054.
Wall Street also came off after the US data, helping the euro at the margins, analysts said. However, they stressed that the data should not be seen as a sign that the US recovery is faltering. They said that with the job market still weak and debt burdens high, it was unreasonable to expect sustained strong gains from confidence indicators in spite of stronger equities and a generally improving overall economic climate. Elsewhere, the much better than expected German August ZEW data failed to provide any meaningful support to the euro. The ZEW index, which measures economic expectations, came in at 52.5 instead of an expected 46.9. //www.fxcentre.com

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