EUR/USD hit 1.3298 during European afternoon trade, the lowest since August 15; the pair subsequently consolidated at 1.3311, shedding 0.33%.
The pair was likely to find support at 1.3250 and resistance at 1.3363, the session high.
The dollar strengthened after the minutes of the Fed’s July meeting showed that officials were "broadly comfortable" with plans to start unwinding the bank’s USD85 billion-a-month bond buying program.
However, officials remain divided over the timing of possible reduction, with almost all committee members agreeing that a change in the asset purchase program was not yet appropriate.
The minutes described recent U.S. economic data as “mixed”, indicating that plans to taper could be pushed back if the economy was to weaken.
The single currency remained supported above the 1.33 level after data showed that manufacturing activity in the euro zone expanded at the fastest pace in 26 months in August.
The flash euro zone manufacturing purchasing managers’ index rose to 51.3 from a final reading of 50.3 in July. Analysts had expected the index to inch up to 50.8.
Meanwhile, the flash euro zone services PMI rose to a 24-month high of 51.0 from 49.8 in July, better than expectations for a reading of 50.2.
Germany’s manufacturing PMI rose to a 25 month high of 52.0, while the country’s services PMI rose to a six-month high of 52.4.
This offset data showing that the French manufacturing PMI remained unchanged at 49.7 in August, while the French services PMI declined to a two-month low of 47.7.
Elsewhere, the single currency was higher against the pound and the yen, with EUR/GBP rising 0.22% to 0.8546 and EUR/JPY climbing 0.66% to 131.29.
Investors were looking ahead to U.S. data on initial jobless claims later in the trading day.
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