- EUR/USD drops 0.40% to 1.0742, influenced by Powell’s hawkish remarks and rising US Treasury yields.
- Powell emphasizes Fed’s inflation target commitment, suggesting mid-year policy tweaks.
- US January labor market strength bolsters USD, contrasting with Eurozone’s economic fragility.
- Euro falters as US Dollar Index climbs, with ECB policy easing expectations and focus on central bank moves.
The Euro (EUR) extended its losses against the Greenback (USD) in early trading during the New York session, down 0.40%, sponsored by high US Treasury yields and the strong US Dollar. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell’s Sunday interview delivered a hawkish message to the detriment of other G10 FX currencies. At the time of writing, the EUR/USD trades at 1.0742 after hitting a high of 1.0785.
Over the weekend, Powell commented that it was too early to ease policy while emphasizing the job is not done – driving inflation toward its 2% target. The Fed Chair added the first cut could happen in the middle of the year.
Meanwhile, data revealed last week struck a pleasant surprise for the US economy, as the Nonfarm Payrolls report for January showed the jobs market added 353K Americans to the workforce while the unemployment rate stood at 3.7%. That indicates the labor market remains strong, maintaining the soft-landing narrative in play.
US Treasury yields climbed sharply following the Fed’s Chair Powell interview, while the US Dollar Index (DXY), a gauge to track the performance of the buck against other currencies, rose 0.41%, at 104.39.
The Euro weakened as Flash PMIs in the Eurozone (EU) stood at recessionary territory despite signaling the economy slightly recovered. In addition to that, the Producer Price Index (PPI) for the block edged lower. Given the backdrop of the disinflation process in the EU, that could pave the way for the European Central Bank (ECB) to begin to ease policy.
The EUR/USD has fallen below the 100-day moving average (DMA) at 1.0783, diving to a new year-to-date (YTD) low of 1.0725, about to pierce the December 8 low of 1.0723. A breach of the latter will clear the path to 1.0700. On the flip side, buyers could recover some territory past the 1.0750, followed by the 100-DMA and the 1.0800 figure.