FOREX Fundamental analysis for EUR/USD
The decrease in tension in the Middle East has breathed new forces into the euro. In the previous case, when EURUSD reached parity in 2022, an energy crisis broke out in Europe, and a possible war between Israel and Iran, further raising energy prices, could seriously undermine the Eurozone economy, which is dependent on fuel imports. This time, Tehran is minimizing the consequences of rocket attacks from Jerusalem, which indicates its reluctance or unwillingness to take revenge. The main currency risk has started to recover, but will the bulls have enough strength for a prolonged correction?
EURUSD is holding higher at 1.06, but talk of a collapse of the pair to parity is not abating. The rates on options, at which the equality of the euro and the US dollar will be fixed, are growing. According to Bank of America estimates, the probability of a pair testing this pivot level over the next 6 months is 12%, although no one considered this option at the beginning of the year.
The reason for this was a significant change in investors' perception of the prospects for US GDP and the dynamics of the interest rate of the Federal Reserve Fund (FRF). If Bloomberg's autumn forecasts for 2024 assumed a slowdown in the American economy to 0.9%, then the recent IMF forecast indicates growth of 2.7%, which is twice the forecasts of the nearest competitor from the G7 — Canada. At the beginning of the year, derivatives assumed 6-7 acts of monetary expansion of the Federal Reserve Fund, but now they are talking about 1-2. Moreover, they are more inclined to one rate cut. The possibility of the Fed not changing interest rates at all this year is also being actively discussed.
It is clear that those who held short positions on the US dollar at the beginning of 2024 are currently the main buyers of the US currency. Vanguard talks about the stable strength of the US dollar, UBS Asset Management predicts its further growth, and Wells Fargo, yesterday's "bear" of the USD index, has already turned around.
Although EURUSD quotes were affected by the escalation of the geopolitical conflict in the Middle East and immediately went up with the stabilization of the situation, other factors determining the position of sellers remain in effect. The expected expansion of US GDP by 2.3% in the first quarter, according to Reuters forecasts, makes us think again about the strength of the American economy. The actual data may be even higher, as the leading indicator of the Atlanta Federal Reserve shows +2.9%, and Goldman Sachs gives +3.1%.
On the other hand, a slowdown in the PCE index, the Fed's preferred measure of inflation, according to Citigroup, may lead to an expansion of acts of monetary expansion from 1-2 to 2-3, which will put pressure on the US dollar.
The monetary policy of the Federal Reserve continues to be a key factor in forex currency trading and continues to depend on data. Therefore, the markets need to be patient and wait for new macroeconomic statistics for the States. The consolidation of EURUSD in the range of 1.061-1.071 is most likely, however, we will sell on each rise.
Technical analysis for EUR/USD
EURUSD maintains a downward trend towards the nearest target at a low on April 16. If this support is broken, the pair will go to the Target zone 2, 1.0561 - 0.0544. To enter the sale, we recommend waiting for the asset to recover to the resistance area (A) 1.0693 - 1.0685 and resistance (B) 1.0739 - 1.0727.
The signal for buying EURUSD will be a breakthrough and consolidation above the resistance area (B). In this case, the short-term trend will change to an upward direction, and the upper Target zone 1.0878 - 1.0853 will be the target of the "bulls".