(Adds comments, updates prices; changes byline and dateline,
previous LONDON)
* Euro falls after weaker French and German sentiment data
* ECB says recent data points to lower growth
* U.S. housing, confidence data awaited
By Vivianne Rodrigues
NEW YORK, May 27 (Reuters) - The euro fell broadly from
one-month highs on Tuesday, after softer-than-expected German
and French sentiment data cast a shadow over the health of the
euro zone economy and made interest rate hikes less likely.
French business confidence slumped to a 2-1/2-year low this
month [], while the forward-looking German GfK
index pointed to an unexpected deterioration in consumer morale
in June [].
The data casts doubts over whether the European Central
Bank would contemplate raising interest rates to tame inflation
this year, instead of cutting them to boost growth.
"European data is clearly not supportive to the euro," said
Matthew Strauss, a currency strategist at RBC Capital Markets
in Toronto. "If the outlook in the region continues to
deteriorate the ECB eventually may have to change its neutral
stance on rates and adopt a more dovish tone."
The euro slipped to a session low of $1.5728 <EUR=>,
pulling away from a one-month high of $1.5818 hit earlier in
the session. In morning trading in New York, the euro was last
down 0.2 percent at $1.5751.
ECB Governing Council member Klaus Liebscher said recent
data hints at lower euro zone growth this year and next but it
is too soon to say inflation has peaked [].
Also on Tuesday, ECB governing member Axel Weber said the
prospect of an interest rate cut by the ECB this year was
"wishful thinking." []
U.S. DATA
The dollar index gained 0.2 percent to 72.126 <.DXY>. The
greenback also rose against sterling, pushing the British
currency down nearly 0.3 percent to $1.9771 <GBP=>.
While a slowdown may be just beginning in the euro zone, in
the United States some investors hope the worst is over and the
Federal Reserve's steep 3.25 percentage points of rate cuts
since September have succeeded in propping up the economy.
Tuesday's U.S. releases include the S&P/Case Shiller house
price index for March at 9 a.m. (1300 GMT) followed by new home
sales for April and consumer confidence for May an hour later.
"One of the most watched measures of U.S. house prices,
Case Shiller, has recently been showing an acceleration in
month-on-month house price declines, while $4 a gallon gasoline
prices may also weigh on U.S. consumer confidence," ING said in
a research note.
"Expect the dollar to remain soft running into Friday's
release of core PCE (inflation), where any upside surprises
could flatten the yield curve and help the dollar," it added.
U.S. crude oil prices hovered below $132 per barrel <CLc1>,
not far below record highs hit last week.
(Additional reporting by Tony Vorobyova in London; Editing by
James Dalgleish)
