Summary Euro firmed slightly against the dollar Thursday, lifted by encouraging German data.
NEW YORK (AFP) - The euro firmed slightly against the dollar Thursday, lifted by encouraging German inflation and unemployment data in Europe s biggest economy.
The euro recovered only a fraction of the ground it lost Wednesday against the greenback after the Federal Reserve suggested it could raise US interest rates in December, pushing the shared currency down to $1.0897, a level last seen in early August.
On Thursday, the euro inched up to $1.0979 around 2100 GMT from $1.0921 at the same time Wednesday.
Germany s unemployment rate held unchanged for an eighth straight month at 6.4 percent in October, a record low since the 1990 reunification of the country, the government reported.
And inflation picked up this month, with consumer prices rising at a stronger-than-expected an annual rate of 0.3 percent from a zero rate in September.
"The rebound in EUR/USD may fizzle over the next 24 hours of trade should the eurozone s consumer price report put increased pressure on the European Central Bank to implement additional monetary support," said David Song, currency analyst at DailyFX, in a market note.
The US government s report card on third-quarter economic growth was in line with expectations. Though growth cooled to a 1.5 percent annual rate in the July-September period, from the 3.9 percent pace in the second quarter, crucial consumer spending remained solid.
"The dollar s prospects have brightened so much that slower US growth during the summer quarter won t deal it a meaningful setback," said Joe Manimbo at Western Union Business Solutions.
"The deceleration isn t expected to last with the job market dispensing an adequate amount of paychecks which should fuel consumer spending, America s main growth engine, over coming quarters."
