Euro Fell as Manufacturing Growth in The Region Slowed

The euro fell for a third day against the greenback before data economists forecast will show manufacturing growth in the region slowed, supporting the case for the European Central Bank to ease policy.

The Federal Reserve Board of Governors agreed at their April policy meeting that the time has come to discuss ways to wrap up monetary stimulus programs, though rate hikes aren't on the drawing board yet, as no inflationary risks have become evident due to ultra-loose policies. The Fed is currently purchasing $45 billion in Treasury and mortgage debt a month to spur recovery, a monetary policy tool known as quantitative easing that suppresses long-term interest rates, weakening the dollar while boosting stock prices on hopes investing and hiring will follow suit. The Fed's current asset-purchasing plan kicked off at $85 billion in 2012, though further tapering will be likely as the economy stands on its own two feet.

Monetary authorities agreed at their April meeting to seek out a mix of tools to normalize monetary policy, though the U.S. central bank didn't spell out exactly when benchmark interest-rate hikes would begin, which watered down the greenback's earlier gains. Euro was down 0.14% at 1.3682 yesterday. Today, the shared currency was at 1.3684 before the drop to 1.3672 during the morning session.

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