Dollar edges lower; euro hit by weak German factory orders
Investing.com — The U.S. dollar edged lower in early European trade Wednesday, but remained near a two-week high, ahead of key employment data, while the euro headed lower after weak German factory orders.
At 04:35 ET (09:35 GMT), the Dollar Index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of six other currencies, traded 0.1% lower at 103.925, having climbed 0.3% overnight.
The index is up 0.5% this month, after sliding 3% in November, its steepest monthly decline in a year.
Recent data has generally pointed towards a slowing U.S. economy, although signs still point to a likely soft landing.
Tuesday’s release showed U.S. job openings fell to more than a 2-1/2-year low in October, the strongest sign yet that higher interest rates were dampening demand for workers.
The labor market will remain in focus Wednesday, with the ADP employment report later in the day, setting up Friday's monthly payrolls report.
“We suspect markets are holding a more cautious stance as we head into the key U.S. payroll figures on Friday and the Fed meeting next week, where there is a good probability the FOMC will deliver a protest against rate cut bets – especially if data fails to turn lower,” said analysts at ING, in a note.
In Europe, EUR/USD edged lower to 1.0794, close to Tuesday’s three-week low, after German factory orders slumped 3.7% on the month in October, a sharp drop after gaining 0.7% the prior month.
Recent data has pointed to the eurozone heading into a recession in the final quarter of the year, as its economy contracted 0.1% in the third quarter, according to official data.
Eurozone retail sales are seen rising 0.2% monthly in October later in the session, an annual drop of 1.1%, as consumers in the region continue to
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