For the 24 hours to 23:00 GMT, EUR declined 0.14% against the USD and closed at 1.3856, after the ECB Vice President, Vitor Constancio opined that market participants did not fully understand the central bank’s message at its March policy meeting that it was still ready to act to stimulate growth in the economy. Furthermore, he pointed out that the ECB still had a slew of measures such as lower interest rate or quantitative easing, to use if the need arises.
Meanwhile, data from the Euro-zone member nations showed that, on a seasonally adjusted basis, Germany’s trade surplus narrowed more than market expectations to €17.2 billion in January, from a revised surplus of €18.3 billion recorded in the preceding month. Separately, a report revealed that Italy’s GDP declined 0.9% (YoY) in the fourth quarter, more than preliminary estimate of a 0.8% fall. However, another official data confirmed that, on a non-seasonally adjusted annual basis, Greece’s economy contracted less than expected in the fourth quarter of last year.
In the US, the commerce department reported that wholesales inventories rose more-than-expected 0.6% in January, as a result of build-up in unsold stocks. Meanwhile, the NFIB survey showed that its index on business optimism unexpectedly fell to a reading of 91.4 in February, from a level of 94.1 in January.
In the Asian session, at GMT0400, the pair is trading at 1.3853, with the EUR trading tad lower from yesterday’s close.
The pair is expected to find support at 1.3832, and a fall through could take it to the next support level of 1.3811. The pair is expected to find its first resistance at 1.3876, and a rise through could take it to the next resistance level of 1.3899.
Traders are expected to keep a tab o the Euro-zone’s industrial production data for further cues in the Euro.
The currency pair is showing convergence with its 20 Hr moving average and is trading just below its 50 Hr moving average.