EUR/USD struggles for direction, stuck in a range near mid-1.1200s

   “¢   A modest USD uptick exerts some intraday downward pressure.
   “¢   Widening US-German bond yields further adds to the selling bias.
   “¢   The downside remains limited amid absent fundamental catalyst.

The EUR/USD pair lacked any firm intraday directional bias and seesawed between tepid gains/minor losses through the mid-European session on Tuesday.

The pair struggled to capitalize on its recent recovery witnessed over the past two trading sessions and remained stuck in a narrow 20-pip trading range amid relatively thin liquidity conditions after the long Easter weekend holiday.

A modest US Dollar uptick, coupled with widening 10-year US-German (DE) government bond yield spread – reaching a four-month high, did exert some downward pressure earlier today, albeit lacked any strong follow-through selling.

The pair quickly recovered around 15-20 pips from daily lows but struggled to make it through the 1.1250-60 immediate hurdle amid concerns over a sluggish economic growth in the Euro-area, further fueled by last week’s disappointing German/Euro-zone manufacturing PMI prints.

With investors still looking for an increase in volatility, today’s second-tier US economic releases – new home sales data and Richmond Manufacturing Index, seems unlikely to provide any meaningful impetus and further collaborate to the subdued/range-bound price action.

However, other important US macro releases scheduled during the latter half of the week – durable goods orders data and the advance US GDP report might play an important role in influencing the pair’s near-term trajectory ahead of next week’s key data/event risks.

Technical levels to watch

Yohay Elam, FXStreet own Analyst writes: “Support awaits at 1.1225 which was a low point during the holiday trading. 1.1205 was a swing low in early April, and 1.1176 was the 2019 low.  Resistance is at 1.1265 which was the high point during Easter. 1.1280 provided support last week and now serves as resistance. The next level to watch is 1.1325 that held the pair down twice earlier this month.”