EUR/USD – Almost Unchanged Ahead of US Inflation, Consumer Consumer ...
EUR/USD is listless on Friday, as the pair is trades just above the 1.24 line in the European session. In the Eurozone, today's highlight is Industrial Production. Over in the US, there are two major events - Producer Price Index and the UoM Consumer Sentiment. The inflation index is expected to show a small decline, but the markets are anticipating that the consumer confidence report will continue its upward trend.
US retail sales reports, the primary gauge of consumer spending, looked sharp in November. Core Retail Sales came in at 0.5%, ahead of the estimate of 0.1%. Not to be undone, Retail Sales posted a gain of 0.7%, beating the estimate of 0.4%. This was the indicator's strongest showing in 12 months. There was more good news on the job front, as Unemployment Claims dipped to 294 thousand, below the forecast of 299 thousand.
The euro showed little response to the ECB's second TLTRO (Targeted Long Term Refinancing Option) on Thursday. This lending program aims to bolster the economy by increasing bank lending to the real economy. The auction in saw European banks take loans of about EUR 130 billion. Although this was higher than the September auction, which had a take-up of EUR 82 billion, the total of around 212 billion was only half of the ECB target of 400 billion. The disappointing figure means that the ECB remains under strong pressure to introduce QE early in 2015, which would likely push the euro to further lows. Meanwhile, the Eurozone continues to struggle with low inflation levels, with a senior ECB official warning of deflation dangers. Speaking in Washington on Tuesday, ECB board member Peter Praet said that falling oil prices could push Eurozone inflation into negative territory.
German numbers have been mixed recently and the trend has continued this week. On Tuesday, Trade Balance climbed to EUR 20.6 billion, marking a 3-month high. This easily beat the estimate of 18.1 billion. On Monday, German Industrial Production didn't look sharp, posting a weak gain of 0.2%. This was a sharp drop from the 1.4% gain a month earlier. As the Eurozone's largest economy, the euro is sensitive to German data and could lose more ground if key German data misses expectations.
EUR/USD 1.2422 H: 1.2412 L: 1.2385
EUR/USD Technical
S3
S2
S1
R1
R2
R3
1.2143
1.2286
1.2407
1.2518
1.2688
1.2806
EUR/USD tested support in the Asian session. The pair has edged higher in European trade. 1.2407 is providing weak support and could break during the day. 1.2286 is stronger. 1.2518 remains a strong resistance line. Current range: 1.2407 to 1.2518 Further levels in both directions: Below: 1.2407, 1.2286, 1.2143, 1.2042 and 119.26 Above: 1.2518, 1.2688, 1.2806 and 1.2930
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