EUR/USD Firms Ahead of Another Friday’s NFP
EUR/USD moved quickly on the charts on Thursday, testing the lows but ending the day holding steady near the 1.0400 level. Euro bidders were not at all excited by the Pan-EU Retail Sales figures that came out exactly as expected. US dollar traders were quiet ahead of the latest US Nonfarm Payrolls (NFP) figures on Friday.
European Retail Sales growth came in at 1.9% YoY in December, matching the median market forecast and slightly up from the previously revised 1.6% reading. Despite the increase in the yearly figure, MoM Retail Sales actually contracted, printing -0.2% compared to the previous month’s flat reading of 0.0%, which was also revised slightly lower.
Economic data from the US was mostly middling on Thursday, with weekly Initial Jobless Claims rising to 219K for the week ending January 31. Analysts had anticipated a reading of 213K, while the previous week’s reading was slightly adjusted to 208K.
Source: FXStreet