After rallying 1.25% over the past two days, the Euro is pausing for breath on Friday. The Euro US Dollar exchange rate settled on Thursday at US$1.0957.
At 08:15 UTC, EUR/USD is consolidating those gains, trading flat in what is expected to be a quiet session for the Euro with much of the region close in observance of the Labour Day public holiday.
EUR: Euro Quiet On Labour Day
The Euro is holding steady on Labour day with no high impacting data die for release. The Euro is holding gains from the previous session, when it managed to advance despite data revealing that the economy contracted by -3.8% in the first quarter and despite little action from the European Central Bank.
The ECB kept rates on hold, as expected. The central bank also added a few new liquidity measures, however it failed to expand its bond buying programme as analysts expected. The ECB have decided to pause and take stock after 6 weeks of intense central bank action.
Safe Haven Dollar Higher On Fears Of Renewed Trade War
The US Dollar is trading broadly higher versus its peers on Friday as investors seek out its safe haven properties. Warnings from US tech stocks Apple and Amazon in the previous session, in addition to threats from President Trump are weighing on sentiment.
President Trump suggested that the coronavirus started in a lab in Wuhan and that China failed to contain it. The pandemic has caused resulted in 60,000 Americans losing their life, 30 million, losing their jobs and are costing President Trump’s chances of re-election.
President Trump has threatened that he could impose tariffs on China to the tune of $1 trillion in retribution. The fear of a second chapter to the US – China trade war is boosting demand for safe havens such as the greenback.
Investors will now turn their attention to the release of US manufacturing ISM. Analysts are expecting manufacturing activity in the US to drop to its lowest level since the financial crisis, with the employment and new orders components expected to show a deep contraction. The manufacturing ISM PMI is expected to print at 36.9, well below the level 50 which separates expansion from contraction, reflecting the first full month on lock down.
