By: Barbara Zigah

The Euro edged up against the U.S. Dollar in Asian trading today, but analysts believe that it could come under renewed pressure if the soon to be released Eurozone PMI data falls short of analysts expectations. Earlier, the Chinese PMI was released, and the reading showed that the factory sector slowed below the benchmark 50 level in August for the second consecutive month; that reading, thought slightly higher than the previous month suggests global growth could be slacking off.

As earlier reported at 12:40 p.m. (JST) in Tokyo, the Euro was trading 0.1% higher against the greenback to $1.4378; support is seen in the $1.4340 to $1.4345 range. Currently, at 6:30 a.m. (GMT), the pair is trading at $1.4388, a gain of 0.2%.

In-fighting within the Eurozone by the key policymakers is also putting pressure on the common currency Euro. At issue is the ongoing debate as to how best to address the Eurozone’s growing debt and fiscal problems. The German Chancellor Angela Merkel, in particular, is facing domestic criticism for her stance, and some colleagues are even cautioning that they would vote against an anti-crisis package which she helped to craft last month in Brussels.