Investing.com - The euro was trading close to session lows against the dollar on Wednesday, despite upbeat reports on euro zone private sector activity and retail sales, ahead of the European Central Bank’s meeting on Thursday.
EUR/USD hit lows of 1.3707, the weakest since Friday, and was last down 0.21% to 1.3712.
The pair was likely to find support at 1.3685 and resistance at 1.3743, the session high.
The euro remained lower despite data on Wednesday confirming that the final euro zone composite purchasing managers’ index was revised up to a 32-month high of 53.3 from a preliminary estimate of 52.7.
The euro area services PMI rose 52.6 in February, from a final reading of 51.6 in January and higher than the flash estimate of 51.7.
Germany’s composite PMI soared to a 33-month high but France’s fell to a two-month low of 47.7. The rate of growth in Italy’s service sector rose to an almost three year high last month.
Separately, Eurostat reported that retail sales in the euro zone rose 1.6% in January, easily surpassing expectations for a 0.8% gain, and were 1.3% higher from a year earlier, confounding expectations for a 0.4% decline.
Another report confirmed that the euro zone economy expanded 0.3% in the fourth quarter and grew 0.5% on a year-over-year basis.
Investors remained cautious ahead of the ECB’s monthly policy meeting on Thursday amid concerns that the bank could tighten monetary policy to help shore up the fragile recovery in the region.
Figures released last Friday showed the annual rate of inflation in the euro area was unchanged at 0.8% in February, well below the ECB's target of just under 2.0%.
The dollar shrugged off ADP nonfarm payrolls data showing that the U.S. private sector added 139,000 jobs in February, below expectations for an increase of 160,000.
Elsewhere, the single currency was fractionally higher against the yen, with EUR/JPY inching up 0.08% to 140.59.