Investing.com - The euro hit session lows against the U.S. dollar on Tuesday, after weak data out of the euro zone, while speculation over a downgrade to France's sovereign rating also weighed on the single currency.
EUR/USD hit 1.3068 during U.S. morning trade, the session low; the pair subsequently consolidated at 1.3070, down 0.36%.
The pair was likely to find support at 1.3016, Monday's low and resistance at 1.3140, the session high.
The euro came under pressure after official data showed that the unemployment rate in the bloc hit a new record high of 11.8% in November, up from 11.7% in October, underlining concerns over the outlook for growth in the region.
In Germany, government data showed that factory orders fell 1.8% in November, compared to expectations for a 1.4% decline as overseas demand dropped.
A separate report showed that euro zone retail sales increased 0.1% in November, compared to expectations for a 0.3% rise.
Elsewhere in the euro zone, the European Stability Mechanism, the region's permanent bailout fund, successfully sold EUR1.92 billion of short-term debt in its first debt auction on Tuesday.
The euro had found support earlier in the session after Japanese Finance Minister Taro Aso said his government would buy bonds issued by the ESM in order to help stabilize the financial situation in the bloc.
Meanwhile, France's finance minister dismissed talk of an imminent cut to the country's credit rating, saying the rumors were unfounded.
The euro was almost unchanged against the pound, with EUR/GBP rising 0.15% to 0.8151 and was lower against the yen, with EUR/JPY dropping 1.01% to 113.94.
Later in the day, the U.S. was to release private sector data on economic optimism, as well as official data on consumer credit.
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The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
