FOREX Fundamental analysis for EUR/USD on December 30, 2024The US dollar is moving towards the end of the year with the best performance since 2015, having strengthened by more than 7% against key global forex currency indices. The main driver of this rally was the steady growth of the US economy, which allowed the Federal Reserve to minimize the depth of the monetary policy easing cycle. As a result, interest rates in the United States will remain higher than in other regions, including the Eurozone, which creates the prerequisites for a further decline in the EUR/USD pair to parity.Central banks usually act synchronously, focusing on the leader, which is usually the Fed. However, in conditions of varying rates of economic growth, following the Federal Reserve can have negative consequences for less stable economies. The United States, thanks to fiscal incentives and rapid productivity growth amid the introduction of artificial intelligence technologies, has withstood the toughest policy tightening cycle in recent decades. In contrast, the Eurozone economy turned out to be less prepared for such conditions.Europe still has not reached its pre-crisis GDP growth trajectory. This is due to insufficient fiscal support, lower labor productivity, and the consequences of the geopolitical conflict in Ukraine, including the energy crisis. In the context of high interest rates, the Eurozone economy is showing weak adaptation, and in the second half of the year, its GDP is likely to show zero growth.The ECB's attempt to continue following the Fed, which is planning a pause in policy easing in early 2024, could prove disastrous. For example, the head of the National Bank of Austria, Robert Holzmann, believes that the ECB will need more time to lower rates due to rising energy prices and the weakening of the euro, which increases inflationary pressures.In such circumstances, the IMF's forecasts for 2025 for the eurozone, which are already noticeably inferior to those of the United States, risk not being justified. An additional pressure factor is Donald Trump's policy, which includes fiscal incentives to accelerate US GDP growth and trade tariffs aimed at weakening the economies of the partners.The only chance for the ECB to avoid deepening the gap may be a faster rate cut compared to the Fed. However, over the next 1-3 months, this is likely to lead to a fall in the EUR/USD pair to parity.The main risk for such a scenario remains possible difficulties with the implementation of Donald Trump's election program. Financial markets, based on expectations from the so-called "red wave", have already incorporated most of the positive scenarios into quotes. If these expectations are not met, a pullback of the EUR/USD pair may follow, which will become a new selling opportunity towards the 1.03 and 1.00 levels.