- EUR/USD is advancing toward 1.1100 on broad-based USD weakness.
- US Dollar Index fell to its lowest level since late March below 98.40.
- Number of Americans receiving unemployment benefits fell to 21 million.
The EUR/USD pair dropped below 1.1000 during the European trading hours but staged a decisive rebound in the second half of the day. As of writing, the pair was trading at its highest level in eight weeks at 1.1088, gaining 0.77% on a daily basis.
Earlier in the day, the data published by the European Commission showed that the Consumer Confidence Index in the euro area edged higher to -18.8 from -22. However, the Business Climate Index fell to -2.43 from -1.99 and didn’t allow the shared currency to gather strength against its rivals.
DXY extends slide on Thursday
In the second half of the day, improving risk sentiment weighed on the greenback and helped the pair push higher. Despite the mixed macroeconomic data releases from the US, Wall Street’s main indexes built on early gains and were last up between 0.65% and 1.2% on the day. Meanwhile, the US Dollar Index (DXY) at its lowest level since late March at 98.38, losing 0.55%.
The US Bureau of Economic Analysis’ second estimate showed that the US economy is expected to contract by 5% in the first quarter of the year. Although this reading came in worse than the market expectation for a decline of 4.8%, the Department of Labor’s (DOL) weekly data boosted the risk appetite.
The DOL said the number of Americans receiving unemployment benefits fell to 21 million in week ending May 16th from nearly 25 million in the previous week. Moreover, the Durable Goods Orders in the US declined by 17.2% in April to beat analysts’ estimate for a fall of 19%.
On Friday, the Consumer Price Index (CPI) for the eurozone and the Retail Sales data for Germany will be featured in the European economic docket. In the second half of the day, Personal Spending, Personal Income and Goods Trade Balance figures will be released from the US.
Technical levels to watch for
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