Investing.com - The euro remained higher against the dollar on Wednesday after data showed that U.S. new homes sales fell sharply in March, while upbeat German private sector data helped support the single currency.
EUR/USD hit highs of 1.3855, the strongest since April 17 and was last up 0.23% to 1.3838.
The pair was likely to find support at 1.3784, Tuesday’s low and resistance at 1.3865.
Data on Wednesday showed that sales of new homes in the U.S. fell to the lowest level since July 2013 in March.
The Commerce Department reported that sales on new homes dropped 14.5% to a seasonally adjusted rate of 384,000. Market expectations had been for sales rate of 450,000.
The euro remained supported after data earlier Wednesday showed that the recovery in the euro zone private sector continued this month, but pointed to a divergence between Germany and France.
The euro zone manufacturing purchasing managers’ index rose to 53.3 this month from 53.0 in March, compared to expectations for an unchanged reading.
The bloc’s services PMI rose to 53.1 from 52.2 the previous month, better then forecasts for 52.4.
The recovery in the euro zone’s largest economy accelerated this month, with activity in both the manufacturing and service sector strengthening.
Germany’s manufacturing PMI rose to 54.2 from 53.7 in March, ahead of expectations for a reading of 54.0. The country’s services PMI increased to 55.0 from 53.0, better than the 53.4 forecast by analysts.
But growth in the French private sector lost momentum this month, with the country’s manufacturing PMI falling to 50.9 from 52.1 in March, and weaker than the 51.9 expected by analysts.
The French services PMI dropped to 50.3 from 51.5 in March.
Elsewhere, EUR/JPY dipped 0.08% to 141.53, while EUR/GBP was up 0.43% to 0.8240.