The euro today edged higher against the dollar after an initial slump as investors remained concerned about the political stalemate in the US regarding further stimulus. The EUR/USD currency pair rallied higher as the greenback headed lower and investor sentiment shifted in favour of the riskier single currency, but gains were limited.
The EUR/USD currency pair today fell to a low of 1.1781, which is a medium-term resistance level, before rallying to a high of 1.1850 and was near these highs at the time of writing.
The currency pair headed lower earlier today pulling back after rallying higher for three consecutive days as traders took profits. The pair’s decline was also fueled by weak greenback as tracked by the US Dollar Index. The single currency kept falling despite the release of the preliminary eurozone Q2 GDP report, which contracted 12.1% translating into an annualised 15% decline as expected. The upbeat eurozone trade balance report for June released by Eurostat also had a muted impact on the pair despite being better than expected; the print came in at â¬21.2 billion versus consensus estimates of â¬12.6 billion.
The currency pair reversed and headed higher despite the release of US retail sales data for June. According to the Census Bureau, US retail sales rose 1.2% versus analysts estimates of 1.9%. The upbeat University of Michigan consumer sentiment survey helped limit the pair’s gains.
The currency pair’s performance over the upcoming weekend is likely to be affected by geopolitical events.
The EUR/USD currency pair was trading at 1.1835 as at 18:07 GMT, having rallied from a low of 1.1781. The EUR/JPY currency pair was trading at 126.17, having risen from a high of 125.74.
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