EUR/USD – Euro Remains Rangebound

EUR/USD continues to look listless this week as the pair shows little movement on Tuesday. In the European session, the pair is trading in the mid-1.24 range. It’s a quiet day on the release front, with no major releases out of the Eurozone or the US. There was positive news out of Spain as Unemployment Claims dropped by 14.7 thousand. We’ll get a look at Eurozone PPI later in the day, with the markets expecting a modest gain of 0.3%. In the US, Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen will speak at an event in Washington.

There has been good news from an unexpected source this week, as Spain has put some strong numbers on the board. Unemployment Claims fell by 14.7 thousand in November, surprising the markets which had expected a gain of 21.3 thousand. Usually we only see an improvement in jobless claims in the summer tourist season, so the drop in claims was a welcome surprise. On Monday, Spanish Manufacturing PMI improved to 54.7 points, its best showing since June 2007. Spanish Services PMI will be released on Wednesday and the markets are expecting a slight improvement in the November release.

The US manufacturing sector continues to expand, as ISM Manufacturing PMI remained strong in November. The index came in at 58.7 points, close to the previous release of 59.0 points, which marked a three-year high. The positive US manufacturing data stands in sharp contrast to the situation in the Eurozone and China. In the Eurozone, manufacturing PMIs in France, Germany and Italy contracted in November. In China, the world’s second largest economy, Manufacturing PMI edged down to 50.3 points, down from the previous reading of 50.8 points.

EUR/USD for Tuesday, December 2, 2014

EUR/USD December 2 11:00 GMT

EUR/USD 1.2448 H: 1.2476 L: 1.2433

EUR/USD Technical

• EUR/USD edged lower in the Asian session. The pair is unchanged in the European trade.
• 1.2518 is an immediate resistance line. 1.2688 is next.
• 1.2407 remains a weak support level. Will the pair break below this line during the day? 1.2286 is stronger.
• Current range: 1.2407 to 1.2518

Further levels in both directions:

• Below: 1.2407, 1.2286, 1.2143 and 1.2042
• Above: 1.2518, 1.2688, 1.2806, 1.2905 and 1.2995

OANDA’s Open Positions Ratio

EUR/USD ratio is almost unchanged on Tuesday, continuing the trend seen a day earlier. This is consistent with the pair’s movement, as the euro is showing little movement. The pair is close to a split between long and short positions, indicative of a lack of trader bias as to what direction EUR/USD will take.

EUR/USD Fundamentals

• 8:00 Spanish Unemployment Change. Estimate +21.3 thousand. Actual -14.7 thousand.
• 10:00 Eurozone PPI. Estimate 0.3%.
• 13:10 US FOMC Member Stanley Fischer Speaks.
• 13:30 US Fed Chair Janet Yellen Speaks.
• 15:00 US Construction Spending. Estimate 0.6%.
• All Day – US Total Vehicle Sales. Estimate 16.6M.
• 17:00 US FOMC Member Lael Brainard Speaks.

* Key releases are highlighted in bold

*All release times are GMT

This article is for general information purposes only. It is not investment advice or a solution to buy or sell securities. Opinions are the authors; not necessarily that of OANDA Corporation or any of its affiliates, subsidiaries, officers or directors. Leveraged trading is high risk and not suitable for all. You could lose all of your deposited funds.