EUR/USD remains under pressure below 1.0500 ahead of Eurozone PPI, Retail Sales

The EUR/USD pair remains under selling pressure around 1.0475 after bouncing off the ten-month low near 1.0450 during the early Asian trading hours on Wednesday.

On Tuesday, the Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) showed that the number of job openings for August stood at 9.6 million from the previous month of 8.9 million (revised from 8.8 million). The figure came in better than the estimation of 8.8 million by a wide margin. Following the upbeat data, the US Dollar (USD) surged above 107.10 while US Treasury yields traded higher. The 10-year yield reached 4.82%, the highest since 2007.

Cleveland Federal Reserve President Loretta Mester stated on Tuesday that she is likely to favor an interest rate hike at the next meeting if the current economic situation holds while mentioning that the Fed is likely at or near peak for interest rate target. The Atlanta Fed President Raphael Bostic said he will be patient and there is an urgency for us to do anything more. That said, the better-than-expected US economic data, higher yield, and cautious mood in the market lift the Greenback against its rivals and act as a headwind for the EUR/USD pair.

On the Euro front, markets are largely anticipating no interest rate hike from the European Central Bank (ECB) soon. On Tuesday, ECB Governing Council member Tuomas Välimäki said that central bank policymakers don't see a stagflation prospect in the euro area while ECB Chief Economist, Philip Lane commented that the ECB is not yet at the inflation target, more work needs to be done.

Looking ahead, market participants will monitor the Eurozone Producer Price Index (PPI) and Retail Sales for August due on Wednesday. The annualized PPI figure is expected to fall from -7.6% to -11.6%, while the Retail Sales are expected to drop, from -1% to -1.2%. Also, the US ADP Employment Change and ISM Services PMI will be released later in the Amercan session. On Friday, the attention will shift to the highly-anticipated US Nonfarm Payrolls.