EUR/USD better bid above 1.0600, all eyes on French election

Dhwani Mehta FXStreet

The recovery in EUR/USD ran out of legs near 1.0625 in the Asian trades, but the bulls managed to keep the 1.06 handle heading into a holiday-quiet session ahead.

The major met fresh supply over the last hours after the selling interest behind the greenback waned amid a recovery in risk sentiment. Upbeat Chinese macro news combined with reports of US and China ties improving in a bid to overcome tensions over the Korean Peninsula brought relief to the markets.

The US dollar was broadly sold-off on Friday, following Trump’s jawboning and dismal US retail sales and CPI data, both of which disappointed markets. Meanwhile, the looming geo-political tensions continue to underpin the sentiment around the funding currency EUR.

Also, the EUR/USD pair benefits amid latest French election poll results, which continue to show Macro in the lead versus its rival Le Pen. A Le Pen win in the French presidential election would imply France’s exit from the EU, which is seen as EUR negative.

Looking ahead, it’s a Big week for the common currency, with the first round of the French presidential election on the cards, outcome of which will drive the sentiment around the Euro ahead of the second round scheduled on April 23^rd. It’s a close call between Emmanuel Macron and far-right Nationalist Party leader Marine Le Pen.

In the meantime, macro news from the Eurozone and US will drive the markets, with the Eurozone final CPI and manufacturing PMI reports slated for release in the week ahead.

EUR/USD Technical Levels

Technical resistances for the pair are aligned at 1.0650 (psychological levels), 1.0687/90 (Apr 6 & 5 high) and finally 1.0715 (March 13 high). On the flip side, the spot finds next support at 1.00603/00 (daily low/ key support), a break below that level could open the door to 1.0568 (multi-month lows) and 1.0500 (key support).

	TREND INDEX	OB/OS INDEX	VOLATILY INDEX
15M	Bullish	Overbought	Expanding
1H	Strongly Bearish	Neutral	Expanding
4H	Bearish	Neutral	Low
1D	Bearish	Neutral	Low
1W	Bearish	Neutral	Low
Updated Apr 17, 02:00 GMT

Author

Dhwani Mehta

FXStreet

Residing in Mumbai (India), Dhwani is a Senior Analyst and Manager of the Asian session at FXStreet. She has over 10 years of experience in analyzing and covering the global financial markets, with specialization in Forex and commodities markets.

AUD/USD climbs toward 0.7000 after strong China data dump

AUD/USD attracts follow-through buyers for the second straight day on Monday, extending last week's recovery toward 0.7000 in Monday's Asian trading. Strong Chniese Q3 GDP and activity data for September strengthen the pair's advance, following RBA Assistant Governor Chris Kent's hawkish remarks.

USD/JPY struggles near 158.00 amid hawkish BoJ, subdued USD

USD/JPY remains defensive near 158.00 in the Asian session on Monday, as the US Dollar remains depressed near a two-week low amid the recent decline in US bond yields. Furthermore, looming intervention risks underpin the Japanese Yen and weigh on the pair amid BoJ Governor Kazuo Ueda's hawkish remarks. However, Fed rate-hike bets and geopolitical uncertainties could limit USD losses and the major.

Gold rangebound as easing October Fed bets clash with firm December hike pricing

Gold attracts some buyers at the start of a new week, though it lacks bullish conviction and remains below the $4,200 mark. US Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh’s unwillingness to provide any cues on further policy moves led to a reduction in odds for policy tightening later this month. Moreover, the recent sharp retracement slide in US government bond yields from multi-year highs, which dragged the US Dollar to a two-week low, acts as a tailwind for the bullion.

Cardano risks 15% downside as retail demand, bullish momentum wane

Cardano (ADA) is trading above $0.2200 at press time on Monday, holding steady after a 12% decline the previous week. The altcoin is losing retail interest as the notional value of active ADA futures positions declines. The technical outlook for ADA suggests a downside bias following the bearish breakout below a near-term support trendline last week.

What to expect in the week ahead

Investors are still digesting last week’s price action as we start a new week. US stocks sold off sharply, with the Swiss and UK indices attracting inflows as tech sold off. Sovereign bonds, particularly Treasuries, rallied and acted as a safe haven as the AI trade suffered another bout of volatility.

Everyone's dumping Gold after hot US inflation. Here's why $4,100 could be a floor, not a cliff

Gold (XAU/USD) is recovering from a sharp sell-off triggered by hotter-than-expected United States (US) inflation data released on Wednesday. The precious metal briefly plunged toward $4,073 as investors increased their bets on further Federal Reserve (Fed) interest rate hikes before recovering as US Treasury yields and the US Dollar (USD) reversed their initial gains.