Investing.com - The euro was trading at seven-week highs against the dollar on Wednesday, after disappointing U.S. housing data added to concerns that the economic recovery is losing momentum.
EUR/USD hit highs of 1.3774, the strongest level since January 2, and was last up 0.01% to 1.3759.
The pair was likely to find support at 1.3693, Tuesday’s low and resistance at 1.3811, the high of December 31.
The dollar showed little reaction after the Commerce Department said U.S. housing starts fell 16% in January to 880,000 units, compared to expectations for a 5.7% drop.
The number of building permits issued last month declined by 5.4% to a seasonally adjusted 937,000 units
A separate report showed that U.S. producer prices rose 0.2% last month, above forecasts for a 0.1% gain, while core producer prices were also up 0.2%.
Investors were looking ahead to the minutes of the Federal Reserve’s January meeting later Wednesday, when the bank voted to cut its stimulus program by another $10 billion to $65 billion per month.
Earlier this month Fed Chair Janet Yellen indicated that the central bank is on track to maintain the pace of reductions to its stimulus program, as long as the economy continues to improve as expected.
The euro pared losses against the yen, with EUR/JPY down 0.16% to 140.59, not far from Tuesday’s three-week highs of 141.02.
The dollar also trimmed losses against the yen, with USD/JPY down 0.10% to 102.25, off session lows of 101.85.
The yen weakened broadly on Tuesday after the Bank of Japan extended a bank lending scheme in an attempt to boost the effectiveness of its monetary stimulus program.