- The Euro gathers extra pace vs. the US Dollar.
- Stocks in Europe navigate a “sea of green” so far on Friday.
- EUR/USD reaches four-day highs near 1.0620.
- The DXY USD Index extends the decline to 105.70.
- Germany reported a firm labour market report.
- US PCE inflation, final Consumer Sentiment are due.
The Euro (EUR) manages to gather extra steam against the US Dollar (USD) on Friday, motivating EUR/USD to retake the key 1.0600 hurdle and beyond at the end of the trading week.
In the meantime, the Greenback continues to correct lower from recent yearly peaks around 106.80 and breaches the 106.00 support with marked conviction when tracked by the USD Index (DXY). The US Dollar’s pullback is also accompanied by some improvement in risk sentiment and rising jitters around a potential US federal government shutdown this weekend.
The recovery in the pair also comes amidst some loss of momentum in US and German yields after hitting multi-year tops earlier in the week.
The monetary policy outlook remains unchanged, with investors still factoring in a 25 bps interest rate hike by the Federal Reserve (Fed) before the year concludes. Meanwhile, discussions in the market persist regarding a potential impasse in policy adjustments at the European Central Bank (ECB), despite inflation levels that exceed the bank’s target and mounting concerns about a potential recession.
In the euro calendar, Retail Sales in Germany contracted 2.3% YoY in August, while the Unemployment Change increased by 10K individuals in September and the Unemployment Rate held steady at 5.7% in the same period. In the broader euro area, flash Inflation Rate for the month of September saw the headline CPI rise at an annualized 4.3% and 4.5% when it comes to the Core CPI (excluding food and energy costs).
Across the pond, inflation gauged by the PCE and Core PCE will take centre stage along with Personal Income, Personal Spending, flash Goods Trade Balance and the final print of the Michigan Consumer Sentiment.
Daily digest market movers: Euro rebounds with confidence past 1.0600
- The EUR bounces off eight-month lows against the USD.
- US and German yields extend the corrective decline on Friday.
- Investors keep pricing in another rate raise by the Fed before year-end.
- Markets expect a pause at the ECB’s hiking cycle.
- EMU advanced inflation figures extend the downward trend.
- UK Q2 GDP figures surprise to the upside.
- Intervention concerns persist as USD/JPY targets the 150.00 barrier.
Technical Analysis: Decent support emerges around 1.0480/90
EUR/USD extends the recovery to the area beyond 1.0600 on Friday, managing to bounce off the oversold zone.
In case the recovery in EUR/USD becomes more serious, the pair should meet the next up-barrier at the September 12 high of 1.0767, prior to the key 200-day Simple Moving Average (SMA) at 1.0828. Should the pair surpass this level, it may pave the way for a test of the transitory 55-day SMA at 1.0855 ahead of the August 30 top at 1.0945 and the psychological hurdle of 1.1000. If the pair clears the latter, it could then challenge the August 10 peak of 1.1064 before the July 27 peak at 1.1149 and the 2023 high of 1.1275 seen on July 18.
On the downside, there is immediate contention at Thursday’s low of 1.0491 seconded by the 2023 low of 1.0481 from January 6.
As long as the EUR/USD remains below the 200-day SMA, the potential for downward pressure persists.
ECB FAQs
The European Central Bank (ECB) in Frankfurt, Germany, is the reserve bank for the Eurozone. The ECB sets interest rates and manages monetary policy for the region.
The ECB primary mandate is to maintain price stability, which means keeping inflation at around 2%. Its primary tool for achieving this is by raising or lowering interest rates. Relatively high interest rates will usually result in a stronger Euro and vice versa.
The ECB Governing Council makes monetary policy decisions at meetings held eight times a year. Decisions are made by heads of the Eurozone national banks and six permanent members, including the President of the ECB, Christine Lagarde.
In extreme situations, the European Central Bank can enact a policy tool called Quantitative Easing. QE is the process by which the ECB prints Euros and uses them to buy assets – usually government or corporate bonds – from banks and other financial institutions. QE usually results in a weaker Euro.
QE is a last resort when simply lowering interest rates is unlikely to achieve the objective of price stability. The ECB used it during the Great Financial Crisis in 2009-11, in 2015 when inflation remained stubbornly low, as well as during the covid pandemic.
Quantitative tightening (QT) is the reverse of QE. It is undertaken after QE when an economic recovery is underway and inflation starts rising. Whilst in QE the European Central Bank (ECB) purchases government and corporate bonds from financial institutions to provide them with liquidity, in QT the ECB stops buying more bonds, and stops reinvesting the principal maturing on the bonds it already holds. It is usually positive (or bullish) for the Euro.
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