EUR/USD dips below 1.18 handle, fresh 2018 lows

Haresh Menghani FXStreet

• Selling pressure remains unabated on the back of persistent USD buying interest.
• Today’s in line EZ final CPI print does little to lend any support and stall the downfall.
• Draghi’s speech eyed for some immediate respite ahead of the US housing market data.

The EUR/USD pair continued drifting lower on Wednesday and momentarily dipped below the 1.1800 handle, the lowest since December 19.

The pair extended this week's rejection slide from the vicinity of the key 1.20 psychological mark and so far, has held in bearish territory for the third consecutive session this week.

Following a brief consolidation, the US Dollar resumed with its bullish run and despite retracing US Treasury bond yields, touched fresh YTD tops, which was seen as one of the key factors exerting downward pressure on Wednesday.

Even today's mostly in line Euro-zone final CPI figures, coming in to match flash estimates, did little to lend any support to the shared currency, with the prevalent strong USD bullish sentiment acting as an exclusive driver of the pair's downfall.

Next of relevance would be the ECB President Mario Draghi's scheduled speech at an ECB event in Frankfurt. This followed by the US housing market data and comments by Atlanta Fed President Raphael Bostic might influence the greenback and produce some short-term trading opportunities.

Technical levels to watch

A follow-through selling pressure has the potential to continue dragging the pair further towards 1.1770-65 intermediate zone en-route its next major support near the 1.1740-30 region. On the upside, any recovery move might now confront fresh supply near mid-1.1800s, above which is likely to make an attempt towards reclaiming the 1.1900 round figure mark.

Author

Haresh Menghani

FXStreet

Haresh Menghani is a detail-oriented professional with 10+ years of extensive experience in analysing the global financial markets.

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