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The euro was little changed versus key counterparts on Wednesday, holding near long-term lows versus the dollar and yen after data revealed that Europe's biggest economy stalled in the fourth quarter.
Concerns about sluggish euro area growth were cemented by news that Germany's economic economic activity was flat in the final quarter of 2009 after edging out of recession in the previous two quarters.
The European Union has also been saddled with debt problems facing a number of member states, particularly Greece. As such, the euro has dropped sharply versus the lower-yielding safer dollar and yen over the past two months.
The euro fetched 1.3570 in choppy trading versus the dollar, staying near last week's 9-month low of 1.3444. Discouraging housing figures from the US may have weighed a bit on the buck.
US new home sales unexpectedly showed a substantial decrease in the month of January, with sales falling for the third consecutive month to reach a record low.
A report from the Commerce Department showed Wednesday that new home sales fell 11.2 percent to an annual rate of 309,000 in January
The euro held near 122.30 versus the yen, not far from a yearly low of 121.40 set earlier this month.
Germany's economic recovery ground to a halt in the final quarter of 2009, as weak private consumption and investment offset a spike in exports, figures released by the government showed.
German gross domestic product was flat in the three months through December period, the Federal Statistical Office said on Wednesday, confirming preliminary estimates. The stall in German growth follows two quarters of expansion in Europe's largest economy.
Meanwhile, industrial new orders in the 16-nation euro area rose unexpectedly in December, but the pace of growth slowed.
Industrial new orders growth eased to 0.8% in December from 2.7% in November, the European Union statistics agency Eurostat said Wednesday.
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