The Euro (EUR) has made a slight 0.2% gain against the US Dollar (EUR/USD) today, mainly due to the latter currency deteriorating in the wake of the afternoon’s unsupportive domestic data.
Imminent Fed Speech could Make or Break USD’s Prospects Today
Disappointment in the US has been brought on this afternoon by the falling December house price index, as well as the Kansas City Fed manufacturing activity result for February, which has declined from -9 to -12 points.
In the near future, a speech is due from Fed official John Williams. While not a voting member of the Fed this year, Williams’ words still hold weight among economists and investors alike.
Earlier…
The Euro to US Dollar (EUR/USD) exchange rate has been trending statically today, mainly as a symptom of the uncertainty currently present throughout the Eurozone.
EUR/USD Exchange Rate News: IMF Warning and Inflation Rate Woes Weigh on Euro Appeal Today
The Euro (EUR) has been making tentative gains against its major peers today, although overall the single currency’s performance has been unimpressive. Gains have included 0.2% against the Swiss Franc (EUR/CHF) and 0.3% against the Australian Dollar (EUR/AUD), while losses have been made up of minor declines against the New Zealand Dollar (EUR/NZD) and the US Dollar (EUR/USD).
The most recent damage done to the Euro’s appeal has come from two sources, the first being the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) recent outlook report. In essence, the IMF warned that the global economy as a whole was ‘highly vulnerable’ and that Chinese turbulence remained a threat to the future performance of the Eurozone and other areas.
The other limiter came more recently, with the Eurozone inflation rate results for January having little positive impact on the Euro. Inflation fell on the month from 0% to -1.4%, while on the year it edged up from 0.2% to 0.3%.
US Dollar (USD) Mimics Euro Today after Cautionary Fed Speech
The US Dollar (USD) has charted a parallel course to the Euro (USD/EUR) today, making small gains and losses in fairly flat trading conditions.
The latest news to affect the ‘Buck’ has come from the Federal Reserve, in the form of a speech from Fed official James Bullard.
Speaking in New York, Bullard gave a strong opposition to interest rate hikes in the near-future, citing low inflation expectations as the reason for this rationale.
EUR/USD Exchange Rate Forecast: Fed Speeches and US Orders due Today
With the bulk of the impactful Eurozone data now out of the way, it only remains for the US to have a continuing influence on the pairing over the course of the afternoon and evening.
The first event to be aware of will be a speech from Fed official Dennis Lockhart, who is due to give some opening remarks shortly after noon. Following this will be the US’s Durable Goods Orders figure for January, which was positively predicted to rise from -5% to 2.5% at the time of writing.
Closing off the major US movement of the day will be a speech from the Fed’s John Williams, which is due to come in New York this evening.
Current EUR, USD Exchange Rates
The Euro to US Dollar (EUR/USD) exchange rate was trending in the region of 1.1017 and the US Dollar to Euro (USD/EUR) exchange rate was trending in the region of 0.9080 today.