2008.12.2412:18:00UTC+00Euro Mixed Against Major Rivals

The euro was mixed versus other major currencies on Wednesday with many traders already away from their desks ahead of the Christmas holiday. There was no major economic news in the Euro zone, but traders digested several key U.S. reports.

The euro saw modest weakness against the U.S. dollar in the late morning. The European currency slipped to 1.3960. Earlier in the week, the European currency climbed away from a near-term low of 1.3826 after hitting a multi-month high of 1.4718.

The Labor Department said that initial jobless claims in the week ended December 20th rose to 586,000 from the previous week's revised figure of 556,000. A Commerce Department report showed that orders for durable goods fell by 1.0 percent in November following a revised 8.4 percent decrease in October.

A separate report from the Commerce Department showed that personal spending fell 0.6 percent in November following an unrevised 1.0 percent decrease in October.

The European currency was choppy against the British pound, reaching as high as 0.9537. The euro extended a record high to 0.9556 earlier in the week.

The euro was range-bound near 126.60 against the Japanese yen. The pair has been in a range since late last week. Against the Swiss franc, the euro fell to a five-week low of 1.5002.

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