- ADP Employment Change in US fell to -27,000 in March.
- US Dollar Index continues to trade in tight range above 99.50.
- ISM report is expected to show contraction in US manufacturing activity.
The EUR/USD pair continues to trade near the bottom of its daily trading range in the early American session on Wednesday. As of writing, the pair was down 0.9% on the day at 1.0930.
USD stays strong after ADP’s National Employment Report
The data published by the ADP on Wednesday revealed that the employment in the US’ private sector declined by 27,000 in March. However, ADP co-head Ahu Yildirmaz noted in the press release that this report does not reflect the full impact of the coronavirus outbreak on the labour market as it uses data collected through March 12th. Nevertheless, the US Dollar Index largely ignored this data and continues to move sideways near 99.70 to make it difficult for the pair to stage a rebound.
Later in the session, the ISM will release the closely-watched Manufacturing PMI report for March. Analysts expect the data to reveal a contraction in the activity with the PMI dropping to 45 from 50.1 in February.
Earlier in the day, the final reading of the IHS Markit’s Manufacturing PMI for the eurozone came in at 47.8 in March. Commenting on this data, “the concern is that we are still some way off peak-decline for manufacturing,” said Chris Williamson, Chief Business Economist at the IHS Markit. “Besides the hit to output from many factories simply closing their doors, the coming weeks will likely see both business and consumer spending on goods decline markedly as measures to contain the coronavirus result in dramatically reduced orders at those factories still operating.”
Technical levels to watch for