FXstreet.com (Barcelona) - Buoyed by spiraling rumours about the imminence of a Spanish call for financial aid, the single currency has finally hit the key and psichological resistance of 1.3000 against the greenback during the early hours of the European session. It couldn’t have been otherwise, as euro docket, late results and the economic outlook for the 17-nation-bloc lack the vigor to propel anything.
So, basically, and going back not so long ago: first it was Chief Bernanke when announced another round of quantitative easing in the last FOMC meeting last month. That supported the later upside of the EUR via a weaker US dollar. Recent strong US data have also bolstered bouts of risk appetite, another source where the euro-bulls have been sucking from. And now, rumours have taken over and acted as the main triggers of this last upside. But the euro, per se, has done no merits to be this high.
… What’s the prospect now?
Now that we reach 1.3000, the question floating in the air remains the same: will this last? will the euro-bulls materialise their hopes of seing the cross fly to levels beyond 1.3100? Karen Jones, currency strategist at the German lender Commerzbank, suggests “the rebound has managed to neutralise the technical indicators, and the market remains sidelined. We continue to suspect that the market will struggle to regain 1.3072… However, while underpinned by the 1.2801 3-month uptrend, further upside probes remain plausible”. The expert also adds that a breach of 1.2801 would accelerate the downside to the area around 1.2600 en route to 1.2472
Jane Foley, analyst at Rabobank, aknowledges that Spain remains in centre stage and argues “that an increase in tension in Spain could force pullbacks in EUR/USD, we now expect these to be limited to the EUR/USD1.2800 area on a 1 mth view, with EUR/USD potentially remaining essentially range driven into year-end”.
All in all, economic fundamentals have given way to politicos. Apparently, the near future of the shared currency would be determined by the next political measures in the bloc, as showed by the impacts on EUR/USD by endless back-and-forths circling the Spanish front, with comments and rumours from officials, passing the ball one to another. Waiting its turn to jump into scene remains Greece, with its policy-makers sit on their hands, finger-crossed, while the ‘troika’ assesses the Hellenic finances. And one should not forget the upcoming EU Summit at the end of this week, nor the statistics associated with it: over the last quarters, every euro-gathering has been a non-event, a fiasco.
… Wednesday is on the cards
Markets will surely follow the US presidential debate and its media consequences along the trading day. The docket will kick in with Japan’s Machine Tool Orders, ahead of the BoE minutes and the jobless rate in the UK. The only release in the euro zone will be the Construction Output, followed by the Swiss ZEW Survey, while in the US Housing Starts and Building Permits will be the most relevant data.
So, basically, and going back not so long ago: first it was Chief Bernanke when announced another round of quantitative easing in the last FOMC meeting last month. That supported the later upside of the EUR via a weaker US dollar. Recent strong US data have also bolstered bouts of risk appetite, another source where the euro-bulls have been sucking from. And now, rumours have taken over and acted as the main triggers of this last upside. But the euro, per se, has done no merits to be this high.
… What’s the prospect now?
Now that we reach 1.3000, the question floating in the air remains the same: will this last? will the euro-bulls materialise their hopes of seing the cross fly to levels beyond 1.3100? Karen Jones, currency strategist at the German lender Commerzbank, suggests “the rebound has managed to neutralise the technical indicators, and the market remains sidelined. We continue to suspect that the market will struggle to regain 1.3072… However, while underpinned by the 1.2801 3-month uptrend, further upside probes remain plausible”. The expert also adds that a breach of 1.2801 would accelerate the downside to the area around 1.2600 en route to 1.2472
Jane Foley, analyst at Rabobank, aknowledges that Spain remains in centre stage and argues “that an increase in tension in Spain could force pullbacks in EUR/USD, we now expect these to be limited to the EUR/USD1.2800 area on a 1 mth view, with EUR/USD potentially remaining essentially range driven into year-end”.
All in all, economic fundamentals have given way to politicos. Apparently, the near future of the shared currency would be determined by the next political measures in the bloc, as showed by the impacts on EUR/USD by endless back-and-forths circling the Spanish front, with comments and rumours from officials, passing the ball one to another. Waiting its turn to jump into scene remains Greece, with its policy-makers sit on their hands, finger-crossed, while the ‘troika’ assesses the Hellenic finances. And one should not forget the upcoming EU Summit at the end of this week, nor the statistics associated with it: over the last quarters, every euro-gathering has been a non-event, a fiasco.
… Wednesday is on the cards
Markets will surely follow the US presidential debate and its media consequences along the trading day. The docket will kick in with Japan’s Machine Tool Orders, ahead of the BoE minutes and the jobless rate in the UK. The only release in the euro zone will be the Construction Output, followed by the Swiss ZEW Survey, while in the US Housing Starts and Building Permits will be the most relevant data.
