EUR/USD sidelined around 1.1280 ahead of US data

• The pair remains parked below the 1.1300 handle so far today.
• US-China trade talks will continue next week in Washington.
• US Empire State Index, Industrial Production next of relevance.

The lack of traction around the European currency has confined EUR/USD to trade in the lower bound of the weekly range so far today in the 1.1280/70 band.

EUR/USD now looks to US data

Spot is losing ground for the second week in a row so far today, relegated to the sub-1.1300 area despite the recent bout of optimism in the US-China trade talks, which are set to resume next week in Washington.

Adding to the sour sentiment in EUR, Lega Nord’s advisor and eurosceptic C.Borghi said the upcoming EU parliamentary elections are an opportunity to change Europe, adding that Italy might be forced to leave the euro bloc depending on the final results.

Moving forward, all eyes will be on the publication of US Industrial Production figures, Capacity Utilization, Empire State index and the advanced U-Mich gauge.

What to look for around EUR

The offered bias in the shared currency remains well and sound this week in spite of some progress made in the US-China trade talks and agreement to resume negotiations next week. The slowdown in the euro bloc keeps weighing on sentiment so far, adding to the ongoing speculations that the ECB could refrain from acting on rates this year and extend further, instead, the current ‘pause-mode’. In addition, political concerns remain well and sound in Euroland as we get closer to the EU parliamentary elections: snap elections in Spain on April 28, the still unresolved issue of the ‘yellow vests’ in France and the omnipresent effervescence in the Italian political scenario, all appear to be lending support to the idea of swelling populism in the Old Continent.

EUR/USD levels to watch

At the moment, the pair is losing 0.21% at 1.1271 and a break below 1.1248 (2019 low Feb.14) would target 1.1215 (2018 low Nov.12) en route to 1.1118 (monthly low Jun.20 2017). On the flip side, the next up barrier emerges at 1.1294 (100-hour SMA) seconded by 1.1332 (200-week SMA) and finally 1.1341 (high Feb.13).