EUR/USD on negative ground before ECB rate decision, US ADP report

The euro slipped to negative territory against the US dollar on Thursday, as market players remained wary ahead of European Central Banks (ECB) rate decision and the ADP report on US employment.

EUR/USD slid to a session low at 1.3162 at 5:45 GMT, after which consolidation followed at 1.3175, down by 0.24% for the day. Support was expected at July 19th low, 1.3090, while resistance was to be met at August 30th high, 1.3255.

The euro was put under pressure as expectations were fueled that the ECB will confirm its pledge to maintain the benchmark interest rate unchanged at its meeting today, followed by the statement by ECB President Mario Draghi, during which volatility of the EUR/USD pair is usually high.

Additionally, later on trading Thursday Germany was to release data on factory orders.

Meanwhile, the greenback was receiving support after the upbeat ISM manufacturing activity report on Tuesday, which reinforced the view of a possible pare back of Federal Reserves stimulus program at its policy meeting this month.

The United States will release the weekly report on initial jobless claims, the anticipated ADP employment report and the non-manufacturing index by the ISM.

At the same time, concerns over a possible military campaign against Syria by the United States continued to make its mark on market sentiment after some congressional leaders, including Republican House Speaker John Boehner and Democrat Nancy Pelosi expressed their intentions of backing President Barack Obama’s initiative for a military strike. Additionally, US Representative for Virginia’s 7th congressional district, Erik Cantor also expressed his support for a resolution by the Congress, which to approve the use of military force in the Middle East.

Elsewhere, the euro was lower against the sterling, with EUR/GBP cross shedding 0.17% to trade at 0.8440 at 7:22 GMT. EUR/JPY pair was losing 0.24% on a daily basis to trade at 131.43 at 7:24 GMT.