Investing.com - The euro slid against the dollar on Wednesday after data revealed demand for U.S. durable goods came in stronger than expected in February, a sign the Federal Reserve remains on course to wind down monthly asset purchases this year and possibly raise benchmark interest rates some time in 2015.
In U.S. trading, EUR/USD was down 0.28% at 1.3787, up from a session low of 1.3780 and off a high of 1.3828.
The pair was likely to find support at 1.3749, Tuesday's low, and resistance at 1.3876, Monday's high.
The dollar rose after the Commerce Department reported that U.S. durable goods orders rose 2.2% last month, wiping out two months of declines and surpassing expectations for a 1.0% increase.
Core durable goods orders, which exclude transportation items, inched up 0.2%, slightly below forecasts for a 0.3% gain.
The overall data indicated that economy is gaining momentum and brushing off a weather-related slowdown and cemented expectations for the Fed to wind down its monthly asset-purchasing program this year and hike interest rates the next.
The Fed's asset-purchasing program, currently set at $55 billion in Treasury and mortgage debt a month, weakens the dollar by suppressing long-term interest rates.
Meanwhile across the Atlantic, the euro continued to come under pressure stemming from dovish comments from ECB officials on Tuesday, indicating that the monetary authority is mulling policy options to stave off deflationary risks.
Also on Wednesday, a widely-watched German consumer climate gauge remained unchanged last month.
In a report, research group Gfk said that its forward-looking index of Germany’s consumer climate remained unchanged at 8.5 for April from March, in line with market expectations.
The euro was down against the pound, with EUR/GBP down 0.41% to 0.8330, and down against the yen, with EUR/JPY down 0.12% at 141.23.
On Thursday, the euro zone is to release data on M3 money supply.
The U.S. is to publish final data on fourth-quarter economic growth as well as weekly data on initial jobless claims and private-sector data on pending home sales.