EUR/USD – Unchanged in Thin Trade

As we wrap up the week following the Christmas day break, EUR/USD, is trading quietly at the 1.22 line on Friday. US and European markets were closed on Thursday, and with no economic releases until next week, we are unlikely to see any movement from the pair during the day.

The euro continues to struggle and has lost a remarkable 300 points in the past week. The sharp fall started with the Federal Reserve policy statement last week.  Previous Fed policy statements have usually stated that the Fed would maintain low rates for a “considerable time”, but the December statement changed terminology, saying the Fed would be “patient” before raising rates. In a follow-press conference, Federal Reserve chair Janet Yellen was less ambiguous, saying that the Fed was unlikely to raise rates for the “next couple of meetings”. The markets took this to mean that a rate hike is in the works, but not before April. The news sent the euro sprawling, as the currency lost about 170 points after the Fed statement.

In the US, there were a host of key events on Tuesday, with mixed results. GDP was red-hot in Q3, jumping 5.0%, ahead of the estimate of 4.6%. This marked the indicator’s strongest gain since the third quarter of 2003. The US economy is expected to continue to surge in 2015, driven by increased consumer spending and lower oil prices. The news was not as positive from Core Durable Goods Orders, which posted a decline of 0.4%, its fourth decline in five readings. The reading was well off the estimate of 1.1%. Durable Goods Orders looked even worse, with a reading of -0.7%. This surprised the markets which had anticipated a strong gain of 3.0%. UoM Consumer Sentiment continues to rise, hitting 93.6 points in December. This marked its highest level since February 2007, as the US consumer remains very optimistic about the economy as we move into 2015.

The Eurozone economy continues to struggle with low growth and weak inflation, but recent releases out of Germany, the Eurozone’s largest economy, give room for some optimism. The January forecast for German Consumer Climate came in at 9.0 points, a notch above the estimate of 8.9 points. This marked the fourth straight rise for the indicator, pointing to stronger optimism from consumers as we head into the New Year. These strong numbers come on the heels of German Business Climate, which improved to 105.5 points, up from 104.4 a month earlier. This edged above the forecast of 105.4 points. On the inflation front, German PPI, which tracks manufacturing inflation, improved to 0.0% in November, up from -0.2% a month earlier. Like the consumer confidence indicator, this release is on an upward trend. Strong German consumer and business confidence numbers are welcome news, as the Eurozone economy continues to struggle.

EUR/USD for Friday, December 26, 2014

EUR/USD December 26 at 8:45 GMT

EUR/USD 1.2196 H: 1.2222 L: 1.2190

EUR/USD Technical

• EUR/USD is unchanged on the day, as the pair hugs the 1.22 line.
• 1.2143 is an immediate support level.
• 1.2286 is a strong resistance line.
• Current range: 1.2143 to 1.2286

Further levels in both directions:

• Below: 1.2143, 1.2042, 119.26 and 118.02
• Above: 1.2286, 1.2407, 1.2518, 1.2688 and 1.2806

OANDA’s Open Positions Ratio

EUR/USD ratio is unchanged on Friday, continuing the trend we have seen throughout the week. This is consistent with the pair’s limited movement, as the euro has shown very small gains. The ratio has a majority of long positions, indicative of trader bias towards the euro moving to higher ground.

EUR/USD Fundamentals

* There are no Eurozone or US releases on Friday.

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.