The US dollar rose across the board on Tuesday after a day off for US and UK investors. The Japanese yen was the only G10 currency that was able to keep its head above the water, thanks to solid April’s retail sales data (3.2%y/y versus 2.3% median forecast). The single currency accelerated its debasement amid dovish comment from Mario Draghi before the European Parliament. Yesterday, the president of the ECB made clear that the institution wasn’t ready to unwind its fiscal stimulus amid rising uncertainties on the inflationary outlook. Investors rushed into German bunds and sent yields to multi-week lows dragging the euro lower. The German 5-year yields slid to -0.44%, while the 2-year one fell to -0.72%.
After rallying strongly during the second half of May, EUR/USD came under pressure recently as investors have already discounted monetary tightening in the EU, while slowly pricing in the upcoming rate hike by the Federal Reserve. We anticipate further downside, with the 1.10 (psychological threshold and Fibonacci 38.2% on April-May rally) level as first target.
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However, our bullish outlook for the USD remains highly depend on the upcoming US data as the Fed needs a solid ground to lift borrowing costs consistently. The Fed’s favourite measure of inflation, the core personal expenditure, is due for release today and is expected to have eased to 1.5%y/y in April, down from 1.6% in March. Investors will also monitor closely developments in wage growth – will be released on Friday – as it could give a boost to inflation measures. On the other, the unemployment rate and NFP will most likely remain in the background as the recent impressive numbers fail to translate into higher salaries for US people.
This report has been prepared by Swissquote Bank Ltd and is solely been published for informational purposes and is not to be construed as a solicitation or an offer to buy or sell any currency or any other financial instrument. Views expressed in this report may be subject to change without prior notice and may differ or be contrary to opinions expressed by Swissquote Bank Ltd personnel at any given time. Swissquote Bank Ltd is under no obligation to update or keep current the information herein, the report should not be regarded by recipients as a substitute for the exercise of their own judgment.
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