EUR/USD traded flat today following US data that did not help the currency pair to find a clear direction. The pair was rising during the Asian trading session, sharply fell back during the European session and is trading sideways right now. Economic reports from the United States were mixed as unemployment claims rose unexpectedly while pending home sales reached the highest level since May 2006. Data about crude oil inventories was also released today, being delayed by one day due to the holiday on Monday.
Initial jobless claims rose to 282k last week from the previous week’s revised level of 275k. The report frustrated analysts who have predicted a drop to 271k. (Event A on the chart.)
Pending home sales rose 3.4% in April, reaching the highest level in nine years. The reading was far better than the previous month’s increase of 1.2% and the forecast rise by 0.8%. (Event B on the chart.)
Crude oil inventories decreased by 2.8 million barrels last week, almost at the same rate as in the week before. Experts counted on a smaller drop by 1.5 million. Total motor gasoline inventories decreased by 3.3 million but are near the upper limit of the average range. (Event C on the chart.)
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