Euro near two-month high as pound snaps losing streak

The euro was trading at an almost-two-month high against the
dollar on Wednesday (February 19th) as soft economic data from the
US added to concerns that the country’s recovery is misfiring.

EUR/USD advanced to 1.3772, its highest since the beginning of
January, after the
Empire State manufacturing index fell faster than predicted
last month, while a separate report showed overseas investors sold
$120 billion of US assets in December.

Dollar selling was taking place ahead of the release of minutes
from the January meeting of the Federal Open Market Committee as
investors look for the outlook of policymakers.

Fed chair Janet Yellen has said the bank will continue tapering
asset purchases as long as the pace of recovery continues, but a
string of weak data points may dampen the optimism.

Meanwhile, the pound snapped its losing streak against the
greenback, with the GBP/USD
exchange rate up 0.25 per cent at 1.6728, close to a four-year
high.

The Bank of England will also release the minutes from its
latest policy meeting today, while unemployment data is expected to
show no change in the UK labour market.

Meanwhile, the Australian dollar was close to a month-high
against the greenback. AUD/USD was flat at 0.9022, while GBP/AUD
advanced to just over 1.8540.

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