EUR/USD Faces Pressure as ECB Maintains Radio Silence

EUR: ECB radio silence not helping the euro

EUR/USD remains a dollar story and with the US data calendar about to pick up (ADP, ISM services, payrolls), the dollar leg should remain dominant given that most key eurozone data was already published earlier this week.

We discussed yesterday the market’s reluctance to price in more than a 50% chance of another hike by the ECB, despite sticky core inflation. One thing missing may be the lack of the usual post-ECB communication re-tuning by governing council members (due to the summer season, more than anything else). The calendar of ECB speakers continues to show only Fabio Panetta tomorrow, and he is the most dovish voice, so unlikely to lift rate expectations.

The US credit downgrade helped EUR/USD avert a move below 1.0950, but more pressure on the pair is definitely on the cards should US data prove robust. A test of 1.0900 by the end of the week seems feasible.