The euro steadied on Friday after a drubbing overnight on weak euro zone data, supported by talk that Asian sovereign players were buying the single currency to defend an option barrier. Some traders said the euro may trend lower in coming days, given growing worries about the euro zone growth outlook and the possibility of the European Central Bank softening its hawkish stance at next week's policy meeting.
Data on Thursday showed manufacturing in the euro zone contracted for the first time in almost two years and a Spanish bond sale drew lukewarm demand. The euro held steady near $1.4262, holding above a three-week low around $1.4227 hit the previous day. Traders in Tokyo said there was some euro-buying to defend an option barrier at $1.4200. Traders said the barrier is the downside leg of a double no-touch option with barriers at $1.42 and $1.46, thought to be held by an Asian sovereign player.
Boding ill for the euro is its drop below an upward trendline drawn through its mid-July low and troughs hit in early August. The trendline now comes in near $1.4295 and may serve as resistance. In addition, traders said option positions built up during the last couple of days suggest some players are positioning for a break to the downside, targeting $1.3850.
The euro would have to breach a series of support levels before dropping that far, including its August 12 intraday low near $1.4150 and its August 5 intraday trough of $1.4055. Lower down, the euro's 200-day moving average offers support near $1.4005, and an upward trendline drawn off lows hit in June 2010 and January 2011 lies roughly around $1.3930.
The Australian dollar dipped as US stock futures retreated after the New York Times reported that the agency that oversees US mortgage markets is preparing to file suit against "more than a dozen" big US banks, accusing them of misrepresenting the quality of mortgages they packaged and sold during the housing bubble.
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