Eurozone’s future is clouded by economic unrest in China, GBP’s future for the week lies in the hands of external variables

Summary:

• The EUR/USD exchange rate has benefited from the final quarter's risk asset rally.
• The GBP made gains this week in a market that was favorable to riskier assets.

Euro opened weaker on Monday, weighed down by the Chinese economy

The market is reflecting mixed signals for this currency pair. Although technical resistances near 1.04 on the charts have recently held back the recovery of the Euro to Dollar exchange rate, it could succumb to losses this week that push the single currency back toward 1.0303 or lower in the coming days. The Euro to Dollar exchange rate has benefited significantly from the final quarter's risk asset rally. Since financial markets adopted an upbeat perspective on the outlook for China in its ongoing fight against the coronavirus and for the U.S. as the Federal Reserve (Fed) attempts to get the better of inflation, the single currency of Europe has almost completely reversed this year's losses against the Dollar. The world's second-largest economy is currently experiencing restrictions due to the coronavirus, and there have been public demonstrations against these limits in several parts of China. This has put the euro on the back foot on Monday. The Chinese economy is also, in some respects, Europe's second-largest export market, which contributed to the weak start for the Euro on Monday, and the ongoing economic unrest in China further clouds the future for the Eurozone.

✕ EUR/USD Price Chart

GBP’s future depends on external variables

The market is reflecting mixed signals for this currency pair. The technical resistance for the Pound to Euro exchange rate is placed near 1.1667, and it started the new week close to November highs. The pound made some gains this week in a market that was favorable to riskier assets and unfavorable to the dollar, but it was unable to go over 1.1667 versus the euro, which is quite close to the 78.6% Fibonacci retracement of the late-August downturn in GBP/EUR. Technical resistance at that level previously prevented the Pound's October recovery from the lows it reached after the budget event in September, and it may do so again this week as a light UK economic calendar puts external variables in charge of Sterling's direction.

✕ EUR/GBP Price Chart

GBP may struggle to move forward in the coming days

The market is reflecting mixed signals for this currency pair. The GBP/USD exchange rate has more than partially recovered this year's decline, but it now faces the possibility of a corrective setback that could push it back around 1.20 or possibly below it during the next several days. Last week, sterling increased in a market that was favorable for riskier assets and unfavorable for the U.S. dollar, but it was unable to overcome a double-barreled layer of technical resistance and may now find it difficult to move forward in the coming days. This is partially due to events that occurred over the weekend in China, where new discontent over the most recent round of restrictions connected to the coronavirus is likely to keep financial markets focused on the significant financial consequences of the government's ongoing efforts to contain COVID. That might reduce risk appetite on the global markets and put the pound to dollar exchange rate on the defensive from the start of this week.

✕ GBP/USD Price Chart

Sources: finance.yahoo.com, poundsterlinglive.com, dailyfx.com