EUR/USD retraces on hopes of de-escalation in US-China trade war
- EUR/USD corrects below 1.1400 as the US Dollar rebounds after Trump pushes back fears of Fed Powell’s removal and intense tariff war with China.
- The White House has indicated that tariffs on China could be 50%-65%.
- The Eurozone and the US PMI grew moderately in April.
EUR/USD extends its correction below 1.1400 during North American trading hours on Wednesday. The major currency pair is off from its over three-year high of 1.1575 as the US Dollar (USD) bounces back. The US Dollar Index (DXY), which tracks the Greenback’s value against six major currencies, has rebounded to near 99.60 from its three-year low of 98.00.
The USD attracted bids as United States (US) President Donald Trump has expressed confidence in closing a trade deal with China and backed away fears of sacking Federal Reserve (Fed) Chair Jerome Powell. Still, he said, he remained frustrated over the Fed’s decision to keep interest rates on hold for an uncertain period of time.
Financial market participants are seeing this event as an attempt to regain the “safe-haven” status of the US Dollar. Investors had been doubting the credibility of the US Dollar and US assets due to back-and-forth announcements on tariff policies by Donald Trump and his attacks on the autonomous status of the Fed.
On Tuesday, US President Trump stated that discussions with China are going well, adding that he thinks they will reach a deal. Trump didn’t provide clarity over how much he will reduce import duty on China, but clarified that the tariff on Beijing “would not be as high as 145%, but they wouldn’t be zero”.
During North American trading hours on Wednesday, one senior White House official reported that tariffs on imports from China were likely to come down to between roughly 50% and 65%, the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported.
President Trump pushed back against market expectations that he is aiming to remove Jerome Powell for not lowering interest rates. “The press runs away with things. No, I have no intention of firing him. I would like to see him be a little more active in terms of his idea to lower interest rates,” Trump said.
Daily digest market movers: EUR/USD corrects after weak Eurozone/US PMI data
- The corrective move in the EUR/USD pair seen during the early European session is also driven by the Euro’s (EUR) underperformance due to weakness in the domestic business activity. Preliminary Hamburg Commercial Bank (HCOB) Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) data for April has shown that overall business activity has barely managed to stay in the expanding territory.
- The Composite PMI has come in lower at 50.1 compared to estimates of 50.3 and the March reading of 50.9. A figure below the 50.0 threshold is considered a contraction in private sector activity. A sharp slowdown in the overall PMI data came from an unexpected decline in the service sector activity.
- The Service PMI declined to 49.7, while it was expected to grow at a moderate pace to 50.5 from the prior release of 51.0. Meanwhile, activities in the manufacturing sector continued to contract, but at a slower-than-expected pace. The Manufacturing PMI came in at 48.7, higher than estimates of 47.5 and the previous release of 48.6.
- Commenting on the flash PMI data, Dr. Cyrus de la Rubia, Chief Economist at HCOB, has warned that the weak trend in the service sector could continue as the “new business has seen a faster drop”. However, de la Rubia remained confident that “higher fiscal spending on infrastructure in Germany and defence spending across Europe should eventually benefit not just manufacturing but also the service sector, though with a bit of a lag”.
- Simultaneously, the flash S&P Global PMI data for April has also remained weak. The Composite PMI dropped to 51.2 from 53.5 in March, indicating a moderate growth. The agency has reported that a slowdown in the service sector activity remained responsible for the weak Composite PMI. The Services PMI came in lower at 51.4 compared to estimates of 52.8 and the prior release of 54.4. However, the Manufacturing PMI expanded at a faster pace to 50.7. Economists expected the data to have declined to 49.4 from 50.2 in March.
- Meanwhile, firming expectations that the European Central Bank (ECB) could cut interest rates again in the June policy meeting are also adding to weakness in the shared currency. Traders have become increasingly confident that the ECB could cut interest rates again in June as officials, including President Christine Lagarde, are confident that inflation will return to the central bank’s 2% target soon.
- Christine Lagarde expressed confidence in an interview with CNBC on Tuesday that the “disinflationary path is clearly on its way”, adding that inflation could be seen around 2.1% by the year-end. Lagarde refrained from guiding the monetary policy path. "Either we cut or pause, but we will be data dependent to the extreme," Lagarde said.
- During European trading hours, ECB policymaker and Bundesbank President Joachim Nagel expressed confidence that interest rates will decline to 2% this year.
Technical Analysis: EUR/USD corrects below 1.1400
EUR/USD dipped below 1.1400 on Wednesday after facing selling pressure above 1.1500 on Tuesday and recovered afterwards. The major currency pair had shown a strong rally in the last few weeks after a breakout above the September 25 high of 1.1215. Advancing 20-week Exponential Moving Average (EMA) near 1.0840 suggests a strong upside trend.
The 14-week Relative Strength Index (RSI) climbs to overbought levels above 70.00, which indicates a strong bullish momentum but also signals increasing chances of a correction.
Looking up, the round-level figure of 1.1600 will be the major resistance for the pair. Conversely, the July 2023 high of 1.1276 will be a key support for the Euro bulls.
US-China Trade War FAQs
Generally speaking, a trade war is an economic conflict between two or more countries due to extreme protectionism on one end. It implies the creation of trade barriers, such as tariffs, which result in counter-barriers, escalating import costs, and hence the cost of living.
An economic conflict between the United States (US) and China began early in 2018, when President Donald Trump set trade barriers on China, claiming unfair commercial practices and intellectual property theft from the Asian giant. China took retaliatory action, imposing tariffs on multiple US goods, such as automobiles and soybeans. Tensions escalated until the two countries signed the US-China Phase One trade deal in January 2020. The agreement required structural reforms and other changes to China’s economic and trade regime and pretended to restore stability and trust between the two nations. However, the Coronavirus pandemic took the focus out of the conflict. Yet, it is worth mentioning that President Joe Biden, who took office after Trump, kept tariffs in place and even added some additional levies.
The return of Donald Trump to the White House as the 47th US President has sparked a fresh wave of tensions between the two countries. During the 2024 election campaign, Trump pledged to impose 60% tariffs on China once he returned to office, which he did on January 20, 2025. With Trump back, the US-China trade war is meant to resume where it was left, with tit-for-tat policies affecting the global economic landscape amid disruptions in global supply chains, resulting in a reduction in spending, particularly investment, and directly feeding into the Consumer Price Index inflation.
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Author
Sagar Dua
FXStreet
Sagar Dua is associated with the financial markets from his college days. Along with pursuing post-graduation in Commerce in 2014, he started his markets training with chart analysis.
