EUR/USD loses the grip near 1.1730, focus on key data

• EUR/USD extends the choppy activity above the 1.1700 level.
• EMU’s flash inflation figures for September are due next.
• US Non-farm Payrolls will be the salient event later on Friday.

EUR/USD extends the erratic performance in the last sessions, although it manages well to keep business above 1.17 the figure for the time being.

EUR/USD looks to data for direction

EUR/USD resumes the downside following Thursday’s positive performance on the back of the better mood around the greenback.

In fact, markets appear biased towards the risk aversion early on Friday as investors keep digesting recent news citing that President Trump tested for COVID-19 soon after the presidential debate.

Data wise in Euroland, preliminary inflation prints for the month of September in the broader euro area will grab all the attention later in the European morning ahead of the speech by ECB’s Luis De Guindos.

In the NA session, September’s Non-farm Payrolls will take centre stage followed Factory Orders and the final gauge of the U-Mich index. In addition, Philly Fed Patrick Harker (voter, hawkish) is due to speak.

What to look for around EUR

EUR/USD appears to have met a strong hurdle in the 1.1770/80 band so far, area coincident with the 55-day SMA and the immediate resistance line. The pair’s outlook still remains constructive and bearish moves are deemed as corrective only. Further out, the positive bias in the euro remains underpinned by auspicious results from domestic fundamentals (which have been in turn supporting further the view of a strong economic recovery after the slump in the activity during the spring), the so far calm US-China trade front and the steady – albeit vigilant- stance from the ECB. The solid position of the EMU’s current account coupled with the favourable positioning of the speculative community also lends support to the shared currency.

EUR/USD levels to watch

At the moment, the pair is retreating 0.14% at 1.1727 and faces immediate contention at 1.1612 (monthly low Sep.25) seconded by 1.1495 (monthly high Mar.9) and finally 1.1447 (50% Fibo of the 2017-2018 rally). On the upside, a break above 1.1769 (weekly high Oct.1) would target 1.1778 (55-day SMA) en route to 1.1917 (high Sep.10).