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EUR/USD falls slightly amid mixed PMI, housing data

Published 07/24/2015, 05:26 PM
Updated 07/24/2015, 05:30 PM
EUR/USD fell slightly on Friday but ended the week up more than 1.3%

Investing.com -- EUR/USD fell slightly on Friday reversing some of the gains from one session earlier, amid mixed data on both continents.

The currency pair traded in a tight range between 1.0925 and 1.0996 before settling at 1.0976, down 0.0009 or 0.08%. For the week the euro gained more than 1.3% against its American counterpart, as the Greek Debt Crisis continues to wind down.

EUR/USD likely gained support at 1.0808 the low from July 20 and was met with resistance at 1.1198, the high from July 13.

The dollar surged to intraday highs in U.S. morning trading amid positive manufacturing data before paring some of the gains following the release of disappointing housing figures. The Markit July PMI index in the U.S. ticked up to 53.8, above last month's reading of 53.4. Shortly later, however, the dollar moved lower after the U.S. Commerce Department said new home sales plunged 6.8% in June to 482,000. Median home prices remained soft at $281,000.

Elsewhere, U.S. 2016 presidential candidate Hillary Clinton proposed a wave of corporate tax reforms on Friday, including a plan that will nearly double the capital gains tax rate on short-term investments. Clinton, the Democratic Party frontrunner, is also proposing increased transparency for stock buybacks and changes to executive compensation.

In Europe, the Markit flash euro zone PMI fell to 53.7 in July, down from a four-year high of 54.2 in June. The decline reflected a slowdown in the manufacturing and service sectors throughout the zone, as well as a dip in consumer confidence.

Currency traders await next week's Federal Open Market Committee meeting for further hints on the timing of a much-awaited interest rate hike from the Federal Reserve. Earlier this week, Federal St. Louis president James Bullard said there is a 50% chance the Fed will raise rates at its FOMC meeting in September. It came days after Fed chair Janet Yellen reiterated that conditions in the economy are likely to justify an interest rate hike at some point this year. Nearly a decade has passed since the U.S. central bank last lifted its benchmark Federal Funds Rate. For nearly six years, short-term interest rates have remained level between zero and 0.25% since the end of the Financial Crisis.

On Friday, the Fed announced that it inadvertently published a staff forecast on its website which disclosed that staff economists anticipate a quarter-point rate hike at some point this year.

USD/CAD reached a fresh 12-year high at 1.3102 before falling slightly back to 1.3047.

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