For the 24 hours to 23:00 GMT on Friday, EUR declined 0.34% against the USD and closed at 1.3017, after preliminary data showed that consumer price inflation in the Euro zone slumped to an annualized rate of 1.8% in February, from a rate of 2.0% the previous month, while the bloc’s unemployment rate rose to a new record high of 11.9% in January, from 11.8% the previous month. Also, on a seasonally adjusted basis, Euro-zone’s manufacturing purchasing managers’ index (PMI) stood unchanged at 47.9 in February.
However, Germany’s real retail sales advanced 3.1% (MoM) in January, while the manufacturing PMI rose to a reading of 50.3 in February, above market consensus of 50.1 and following a reading of 49.8 in January. Separately, manufacturing purchasing managers’ index (PMI) in France advanced to a reading of 43.9 in February, slightly higher than the flash reading of 43.6, and compared to a reading of 42.9 in January.
In the Asian session, at GMT0400, the pair is trading at 1.3015, with the EUR trading marginally lower from Friday’s close.
The pair is expected to find support at 1.2953, and a fall through could take it to the next support level of 1.2892. The pair is expected to find its first resistance at 1.3089, and a rise through could take it to the next resistance level of 1.3164.
In economic news due later today, investors hold a bearish view over Euro-zone’s Sentix investor confidence and the annual producer price index.
The currency pair is showing convergence with its 20 Hr moving average and is trading below its 50 Hr moving average.