|

EUR/USD: Euro on hold between 1.1350-1.1400 ahead of ECB meeting and President Lagarde speech

The single European currency is trading just above the 1.1350 level in the early hours of Thursday in a narrow trading range as investors eagerly await the European Central Bank meeting and President Christine Lagarde's speech that will follow.

Any result beyond a 25 basis point cut would be a big surprise and likely to cause a severe shock to the markets.

Beyond the expected European Central Bank meeting, investors continue to have the issue of tariffs and the enigmatic personality of President Donald Trump high on their agenda.

The ambiguous policies and frequent changes in his agenda regarding the approach to tariffs with various trading partners have affected America's credibility, something that risks becoming more widespread and hitting US government debt securities more severely.

Such a possible development, although it has limited chances, constitutes the biggest risk for the US dollar at the moment, perhaps even a bigger risk than a possible recession into which the US economy could enter.

At the same time, on the other side of the Atlantic, the Old Continent is facing its own challenges. Economic activity is still limping, while significant questions remain about the political stability of some major European economies.

As the 25 basis point cut decision is almost a foregone conclusion, investors' attention will be focused on President Lagarde speech, which could provide some direction to the exchange rate with her statements.

In such an environment of uncertainty and developments, I would prefer to remain in a wait-and-see attitude, while maintaining a small position in favor of the American currency, unfortunately from lower levels, expecting a further decline in the euro in order to disengage.

Author

Vasilis Tsaprounis

Vasilis Tsaprounis

Independent Analyst

Vassilis Tsaprounis possesses over 25 years of professional experience in Capital Markets and especially in the foreign exchange market.

More from Vasilis Tsaprounis
Share:

Editor's Picks

EUR/USD climbs to daily highs near 1.1820

EUR/USD now picks up pace and advances to the area of daily peaks north of the 1.1800 barrier at the end of the week. The pair’s decent move higher comes against the backdrop of a generalised lack of direction in the FX galaxy and the mild offered stance in the US Dollar.

GBP/USD trims losses, retests 1.3460

After briefly challenging its key 200-day SMA near 1.3440, GBP/USD now manages to regain some balance and revisit the 1.3460 zone on Friday. Cable’s pullback comes as the selling pressure on the Greenback gathers traction, reigniting some recovery in the risk-linked space.

Gold flirts with four-week highs past $5,200

Gold extends its rebound, climbing for a third consecutive session and pushing back above the $5,200 mark per troy ounce on Friday. The move higher continues to draw support from lingering geopolitical tensions and the ongoing uncertainty surrounding US trade policy, both of which are keeping safe-haven demand firmly in play.

Bitcoin, Ethereum and Ripple consolidate with short-term cautious bullish bias

Bitcoin, Ethereum and Ripple are consolidating near key technical areas on Friday, showing mild signs of stabilization after recent volatility. BTC holds above $67,000 despite mild losses so far this week, while ETH hovers around $2,000 after a rejection near its upper consolidation boundary. 

Breaking: US and Israel attack Iran, risk aversion to sweep global markets

Early Saturday, United States (US) President Donald Trump announced that the US had begun “major combat operations” in Iran, following Israel’s pre-emptive missile attacks against Tehran.

Starknet unveils strkBTC, shielded Bitcoin transactions on Ethereum Layer 2

Starknet, the Ethereum Layer 2 network developed by StarkWare, today announced strkBTC, a wrapped Bitcoin asset that introduces optional shielding while preserving full DeFi composability.