Forex - EUR/USD lower before Bernanke

The euro was lower against the dollar in subdued trade on Wednesday ahead of testimony on monetary policy by Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke later in the trading day.

EUR/USD hit 1.3052 during European afternoon trade, the session low; the pair subsequently consolidated at 1.3130, shedding 0.24%.

The pair was likely to find support at 1.3049, Tuesday’s low and resistance at 1.3205, the high of July 11.

Investors were awaiting Bernanke's semiannual congressional testimony amid speculation over the timing of a possible reduction to the bank’s USD85 billion-a-month bond buying program.

The dollar fell sharply last week after Bernanke said the U.S. economy still needed monetary stimulus.

Bernanke was expected to reiterate that the bank could start scaling back its asset purchase program by the end of this year if the economy continues to pick up, but that interest rates will remain at record lows for the foreseeable future.

Elsewhere, the euro fell to session lows against the pound, withEUR/GBP down 0.655 to 0.8627.

The pound strengthened broadly after the minutes of the Bank of England’s July meeting showed that policymakers voted unanimously to keep the bank’s quantitative easing program unchanged.

Two policymakers who had previously voted in favor of more stimulus said it remained "warranted".

Meanwhile, official data showed that the number of people claiming unemployment benefits in the U.K. fell by a seasonally adjusted 21,200 in June, better than expectations for a decline of 8,000.

The rate of unemployment held steady at 7.8% in May, in line with expectations and unchanged from April. 

The single currency was higher against the yen, with EUR/JPY rising 0.42% to 130.96.

The U.S. was to release official data on building permits and housing starts later Wednesday.