EUR/USD stuck at 1.1400 ahead of EU CPI, US NFP double-header Friday
|- As the Euro remains range-bound in the long-term, current action is hung in the middle ahead of major releases on both sides of the pond.
- The US Dollar continues to go sideways as markets struggle with bouts of risk-off trading.
EUR/USD continues to test into the 1.1400 major technical level, continuing a bounce from the low end of a sideways channel, and the major pairing heads into a Friday session that sees market focus shifting towards another key reading of the US' Non-Farm Payrolls.
Economic data for the EU is spread out for Friday, with the German Unemployment Change for December coming in at 08:55 (forecast -11 thousand, last -16 thousand), followed closely behind by the EU's December Markit Services PMI at 09:00 GMT, forecast to hold steady at 51.4. The Euro's data docket caps off at 10:00 GMT with EU preliminary December CPI, where annualized core inflation into December is expected to hold steady at 1.0%, alongside the EU's annualized PPI for December, expected to slow down from 4.9% to 4.1%, after which markets will be turning to face the American NFP report at 13:30 GMT.
Signs of a steepening economic downturn have been crossing the screens of traders across the globe, and investors will be bracing for a potential miss for December's NFP, though median market forecasts are calling for a reading of 177 thousand (last 155 thousand), while Average Hourly Earnings for the year into December are expected to slip slightly from 3.1% to 3.0%.
EUR/USD Levels to watch
The Euro continues to trade near Thursday's closing action, and EUR/USD is likely to continue spiralling within the boundaries of a two-month consolidation period, as noted by FXStreet's own Valeria Bednarik:
The EUR/USD pair trades near its daily highs by the end of the US session, finding short-term resistance in a bearish 20 SMA in the 4 hours chart, now above the 100 and 200 SMA which remain directionless. Despite some wild spikes both side of the board, the pair remains within familiar levels and without a certain longer-term trend. In the mentioned chart, technical indicators have corrected from extreme oversold readings but lost upward strength within negative ground, limiting the upward potential. Sustained gains above the 1.1420/30 region will give bulls an encouraging hint.
Support levels: 1.1385 1.1350 1.1310
Resistance levels: 1.1425 1.1460 1.1500
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