EUR/USD Fundamental Analysis: May 4, 2017
The USD had a very positive trading session yesterday as a result of a positive economic dollar-related news. This then helped the dollar to eclipse the value of other currencies, and the EUR/USD pair was no exception. The currency pair had started out yesterday’s session on a somewhat slower pace as the market anticipated the release of important economic readings and had spent the majority of yesterday trading within its range highs. However, as the said financial data started coming in, the dollar was able to capitalize on this slew of good news and prop itself up higher, putting significant downward pressure on the currency pair which is now trading at just under 1.0900 points.
The first bit of good news came in the form of the ADP employment report, which surprisingly came out as expected, considering the fact that last month’s NFP report had failed to meet market expectations. Up next was the manufacturing report which also came out as positive, and this increased the USD’s value even more. However, by this point, the dollar was still somewhat at par with the value of the euro since the market chose to standby for the release of the FOMC meeting minutes. The said minutes were released halfway during the NY session, and since there was no accompanying press conference the market had no choice but to pick on the results of the minutes itself. The Fed did not give any indication of the schedule of the next rate hike, however it pointedly ignored the somewhat tame economic growth in the Q1, which the market took as a signal that the central bank might be preparing for another June rate hike. This triggered a dollar buy which pushed down the EUR/USD pair towards under 1.0900 points.
As of this point, the market is starting to price in a June rate hike although there are still no definite hints as of the moment. For today’s session, the market is expecting the release of the US unemployment claims data while Draghi will be speaking during the latter part of the NY session. There is little volatility expected today as the NFP report is due to be released tomorrow. The EUR/USD pair is expected to trade with bearish undertones for the rest of today’s sessions.