* Euro stop-loss orders said to lie below $1.2475
* Aussie skids to 6-week low on China slowdown fears
By Lisa Twaronite
TOKYO, Sep 5 (Reuters) – The euro dipped slightly against
the dollar in early Asian trading on Wednesday but was seen
supported before Thursday’s European Central Bank meeting at
which the ECB is expected to unveil details of its long-awaited
debt-buying plan.
The European unit percent was down 0.3 percent at $1.2531
, off its Tuesday session high of $1.2629 but still not
far from Friday’s high of $1.26378 on trading platform EBS,
which was its strongest level since early July.
The euro bumped through stop-loss orders which were said to
have been placed at $1.2550, which was a 50 percent retracement
of its recent rise from $1.2465 on Aug. 28 to Friday’s high, as
well as at Tuesday’s low of $1.2555. Further stops were said to
lie below $1.2475.
“The euro is finding the going a little bit easier. The
prospect of the collapse of the euro is becoming a distant
memory with many former bears. And the temperature seems to be
rising amongst the perma bears,” said Andrew Wilkinson, chief
economic strategist at Miller Tabak & Co.
ECB President Mario Draghi told European lawmakers on
Monday that purchases of short-term sovereign bonds would not
breach European Union rules, according to a recording obtained
by Reuters.
The euro “is rangebound but seems to be quite well
supported. The high expectations for the ECB meeting on Thursday
remain, after Draghi’s closed-door meeting on Monday,” Wilkinson
said.
Still, fears that the ECB could disappoint and trigger a
further euro correction prompted some investors to take profits
on its recent gains.
The euro also slipped slightly against the yen, down 0.3
percent to 98.25 yen.
The euro also came under some pressure on Tuesday after
worse-than-expected data on U.S. manufacturing gave the dollar a
safe-haven lift.
The dollar was steady against its Japanese counterpart at
78.46 yen.
The Australian dollar bought $1.0200 after dropping
to a six-week low of $1.0191 on growing speculation the Reserve
Bank of Australia will cut interest rates to cushion the economy
from falling commodity prices.
Australia’s central bank held rates steady on Tuesday as
widely expected, though a slowdown in China has left the
country’s commodity-fuelled economy vulnerable.
