EUR USD analysis: Euro breaks above 1.39 on ADP, German data

NEW YORK (Forex News Now) – The euro advanced against the dollar on Tuesday, breaking above the 1.39 mark, on the back of better-than-expected data on German factory orders and a disappointing U.S. jobs report.

In European afternoon currency market trading, EUR/USD hit 1.3947, a fresh 8-month high. The currency pair later retreated slightly to trade at 1.3924, up 0.62 percent on the day.

The payroll processing company ADP said earlier that private U.S. employers shed 39,000 jobs during the month, after adding a revised 10,000 in August. Analysts had expected the data to show an increase of 23,000 new jobs, according to two currency market trading news outlets.

According to EUR USD analysis, EUR/USD was likely to touch support around Tuesday’s low, 1.3637, and encounter resistance around the high of Feb. 3, 1.4026.

The euro’s gains came despite a downgrade of Ireland’s credit rating by Fitch Ratings and Moody’s Investor Services after revelations the bailout of its banking sector could cost the country up to EUR 50 billion.

The move was somewhat offset by official data from Germany, which showed that factory orders increased almost four times the pace economists had expected in August.

Elsewhere, the euro jumped versus sterling: EUR/GBP traded at 0.8758, up 0.58 percent, according to intraday analysis.