EUR/USD bulls could be throwing in the towel at key resistance
- EUR/USD bulls are testing key resistance.
- Eyes will turn to the US NFP on Friday.
EURUSD was last seen flat at 1.0894, having gained more than 0.5% on Monday but meeting resistance as the bulls start to move out. The sluggish U.S. economic data weighed on the greenback on Monday which enabled the euro to rally strongly.
The Institute for Supply Management (ISM) survey showed on Monday that manufacturing activity fell to the lowest level in nearly three years in March as new orders continued to contract, with all subcomponents of its manufacturing PMI below the 50 thresholds for the first time since 2009, sending the US Dollar lower.
Elsewhere, traders believe the European Central Bank will keep raising interest rates in the coming months to combat inflation. Data released on Friday showed an acceleration in core price growth in the euro area, while a measure of core inflation in the US arrived a touch lower than expected at 4.6%.
Meanwhile, last month, ECB President Lagarde said that the central bank was determined to get the inflation back on target and it won’t involve “trade-offs" despite the recent banking turmoil and risks of a recession. In addition, the renewed inflation fears after the OPEC+ group has jolted markets with plans to cut more production, a move which sent oil benchmarks jumping 6% on Monday.
Eyes on US jobs this Friday
Looking ahead, the focus this week will be on Friday's jobs report, although many markets will be closed for the Easter holiday.
´´US payrolls likely stayed firm at a still above-trend pace in March, though slowing from stronger prints in Jan-Feb,´´ the analysts at TD Securities explained.
´´We also look for the Unemployment Rate to stay unchanged at 3.6%, and wage growth to print a firm 0.3% MoM.´´