EUR/USD jumps above 1.1700 on Powell’s dovish words
- Dovish Federal Reserve Chair Powell’s words put the US Dollar in sell-off mode.
- Wall Street rallies on fresh hopes for a September interest rate cut.
- EUR/USD regains the 1.1700 mark, aims to retest the 1.1730 level.
The US Dollar (USD) collapsed as Federal Reserve (Fed) Chair Jerome Powell delivered his speech at a Jackson Hole Symposium, with EUR/USD peaking at 1.1707, up roughly 100 pips in the last few minutes on Friday.
Powell surprised investors with a much more dovish tone than usual, as he started noting that the downside risks to the labor market are rising. But he also noted that tariff-related inflation may have a short-lived impact.
Powell also announced a new framework designed to work in a range of economic conditions, with the prior framework's emphasis on an overly specific set of economic conditions may have led to some confusion. The new one calls for a balanced approach when the central bank's goals are in tension.
US Dollar Price Today
The table below shows the percentage change of US Dollar (USD) against listed major currencies today. US Dollar was the strongest against the Canadian Dollar.
| USD | EUR | GBP | JPY | CAD | AUD | NZD | CHF | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| USD | -0.84% | -0.77% | -0.87% | -0.44% | -1.01% | -0.82% | -0.73% | |
| EUR | 0.84% | 0.09% | -0.12% | 0.42% | -0.21% | 0.03% | 0.13% | |
| GBP | 0.77% | -0.09% | -0.20% | 0.32% | -0.31% | -0.04% | 0.04% | |
| JPY | 0.87% | 0.12% | 0.20% | 0.49% | -0.07% | 0.05% | 0.16% | |
| CAD | 0.44% | -0.42% | -0.32% | -0.49% | -0.63% | -0.37% | -0.28% | |
| AUD | 1.01% | 0.21% | 0.31% | 0.07% | 0.63% | 0.26% | 0.35% | |
| NZD | 0.82% | -0.03% | 0.04% | -0.05% | 0.37% | -0.26% | 0.09% | |
| CHF | 0.73% | -0.13% | -0.04% | -0.16% | 0.28% | -0.35% | -0.09% |
The heat map shows percentage changes of major currencies against each other. The base currency is picked from the left column, while the quote currency is picked from the top row. For example, if you pick the US Dollar from the left column and move along the horizontal line to the Japanese Yen, the percentage change displayed in the box will represent USD (base)/JPY (quote).
Technical Outlook
The EUR/USD pair keeps pushing higher at the time of writing, trimming most of its weekly losses. The pair added over 100 pips with Powell’s speech, and the near-term movement seems a bit overextended, yet there are no technical signs of upward exhaustion in the near term.
The 4-hour chart shows indicators aim north almost vertically within positive levels, while EUR/USD currently stands above all its moving averages, which anyway remain directionless.
There is room for a pullback before the close, although the sharp momentum is likely to continue. Immediate resistance comes at 1.1730, a weekly peak, with solid gains beyond the level exposing the 1.1830 level, where EUR/USD topped for 2025. Support, on the other hand, comes at around 1.1650, where the pair pivoted comfortably for most of the week.
Author
FXStreet Team
FXStreet
