Investing.com - The euro rose to session highs against the dollar on Wednesday as prospects for U.S. military strikes on Syria appeared to diminish, fuelling investor demand for riskier assets.
EUR/USD hit 1.3301 during U.S. morning trade, the highest since August 29; the pair subsequently consolidated at 1.3294, gaining 0.21%.
The pair was likely to find support at 1.3229, Tuesday’s low and resistance at 1.3342, the high of August 29.
Risk appetite was boosted after the White House confirmed that President Obama is in talks with France and Britain about getting a United Nations resolution to hold Syria to its apparent commitment to place its chemical weapons under international control.
President Obama said he would put plans for a military strike against Syria on hold if the country agrees to relinquish its chemical weapons stockpile.
Market sentiment was also underpinned after a recent string of upbeat economic data from China indicated that the world’s second largest economy is recovering from a slowdown.
The euro was lower against the pound and the yen, with EUR/GBP down 0.23% to 0.8414 after falling as low as 0.8384 earlier. EUR/JPY was down 0.11% to 133.03.
Sterling strengthened after official data showed that the rate of unemployment in the U.K. ticked down to 7.7% in the three months to July from 7.8% in the previous three months.
Economists had expected the unemployment rate to remain unchanged.
The data reinforced expectations that the Bank of England may raise interest rates sooner than it has indicated.
Last month, the BoE pledged to keep interest rates on hold at current record low levels until the unemployment rate falls below 7%, something that bank does not see for another three years.
The number of people claiming unemployment benefits in the U.K. fell by 32,600 in August, better than expectations for a decline of 22,000 people.
EUR/USD hit 1.3301 during U.S. morning trade, the highest since August 29; the pair subsequently consolidated at 1.3294, gaining 0.21%.
The pair was likely to find support at 1.3229, Tuesday’s low and resistance at 1.3342, the high of August 29.
Risk appetite was boosted after the White House confirmed that President Obama is in talks with France and Britain about getting a United Nations resolution to hold Syria to its apparent commitment to place its chemical weapons under international control.
President Obama said he would put plans for a military strike against Syria on hold if the country agrees to relinquish its chemical weapons stockpile.
Market sentiment was also underpinned after a recent string of upbeat economic data from China indicated that the world’s second largest economy is recovering from a slowdown.
The euro was lower against the pound and the yen, with EUR/GBP down 0.23% to 0.8414 after falling as low as 0.8384 earlier. EUR/JPY was down 0.11% to 133.03.
Sterling strengthened after official data showed that the rate of unemployment in the U.K. ticked down to 7.7% in the three months to July from 7.8% in the previous three months.
Economists had expected the unemployment rate to remain unchanged.
The data reinforced expectations that the Bank of England may raise interest rates sooner than it has indicated.
Last month, the BoE pledged to keep interest rates on hold at current record low levels until the unemployment rate falls below 7%, something that bank does not see for another three years.
The number of people claiming unemployment benefits in the U.K. fell by 32,600 in August, better than expectations for a decline of 22,000 people.