For the 24 hours to 23:00 GMT, the EUR declined 1.41% against the USD and closed at 1.2333, after the Euro-zone’s inflation remained well below the ECB’s 2% target.
Yesterday’s data showed that the region’s CPI eased 0.2% on a MoM basis in November, following a similar drop registered in October.
The Euro remained under pressure after the ECB’s Executive Board member, Benoit Coeure stated that a broad consensus prevailed among the central bank’s policymakers for injecting new stimulus to fight against a weak Euro-economy along with low inflation.
In the US, the Fed in its recent monetary policy meeting held its interest rate steady at 0.25%, in line with market expectations. Additionally, the Fed Chief, Janet Yellen in her statement accompanying the interest rate decision mentioned that the central bank would be “patient” on the timing of the first rate increase and it would not be raised before the end of April 2015.
Meanwhile, the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) boosted the US 2014 economic growth outlook and stated that it expects the economy to grow in the range of 2.3% to 2.5%, up from its September estimate of 1.8% to 2.3%.
In other economic news, the US consumer prices fell to its lowest level in nearly 6 years, dropping 0.3% on a MoM basis in November, higher than market expectations for a 0.1% fall. The consumer price index had registered an unchanged reading in the prior month. Meanwhile, mortgage applications eased 3.3% on a weekly basis in the week ended 12 December 2014. In the prior week, mortgage applications had recorded a rise of 7.30%.
In the Asian session, at GMT0400, the pair is trading at 1.2345, with the EUR trading 0.1% higher from yesterday’s close.
The pair is expected to find support at 1.2277, and a fall through could take it to the next support level of 1.2208. The pair is expected to find its first resistance at 1.2458, and a rise through could take it to the next resistance level of 1.2571.
Trading trends in the Euro today are expected to be determined by Germany’s IFO economic expectation survey data, scheduled in a few hours. Meanwhile, the US weekly initial jobless claims data would generate a lot of market attention, scheduled later today.
The currency pair is trading below its 20 Hr and 50 Hr moving averages.