EUR/USD depressed, looks for direction near 1.1480

• The pair comes under further pressure and navigates the 1.1480 area.
• The greenback surged above the 96.00 handle and looks to consolidate.
• US Initial Claims, Factory Orders next on tap in the NA session.

The demand for the greenback gathered extra pace on Wednesday and forced EUR/USD to break below the critical 1.1500 area and is now looking to consolidate in the 1.1480 region.

EUR/USD weaker on Italy, Powell

The pair is extending the downside for yet another session on Thursday, always on the back of Italian politics while the hawkish tone from Chief Powell also collaborated with the downside.

In fact, at his interview on Wednesday, Fed’s Jerome Powell hinted at the likeliness that more interest rates could be in the pipeline after he said ‘we may go past neutral, but we’re a long way from neutral at this point, probably’. It is worth mentioning that consensus among Fed’s members places the neutral level around 3.0%.

Looking ahead, there are no scheduled events in Euroland, whereas September’s Factory Orders, the usual weekly report on the labour market and Challenger Job Cuts are all due across the pond.

EUR/USD levels to watch

At the moment, the pair is gaining 0.02% at 1.1479 and a break above 1.1508 (low May 21) would target 1.1608 (55-day SMA) en route to 1.1641 (21-day SMA). On the flip side, immediate contention aligns at 1.1463 (low Sep.4) seconded by 1.1449 (50% Fibo of the 2017-2018 up move) and finally 1.1299 (2018 low Aug.15).