Euro Rises to Parity as ECB Hints at 75bp Hike

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EUR/USD has edged higher today and is trading at the parity line. In the North American sesssion, EUR/USD is trading at 1.0019, up 0.57%.

Euro bucks the trend, rises against greenback

The US dollar has posted sharp gains against the major currencies, as Fed Chair Powell’s hawkish speech at Jackson Hole left no doubt that the Fed will continue to tighten rates in its titanic battle with surging inflation. The euro, however, bucked the trend and posted strong gains on Friday but ultimately pared these gains, before moving higher once again today. The upward movement has been driven by hawkish comments at Jackson Hole from senior ECB members, including Isabel Schnabel, who is well-known for being a hawk. Shnabel said that the likelihood of high inflation becoming entrenched in expectations was “uncomfortably high” and argued that “central banks need to act forcefully”. Latvian central bank Governor Martins Kazak was even more specific, stating that the ECB should be open to discussing 50 or 75 basis point moves.

The ECB has raised rates but only to zero, well below the neutral rate of around 1.5%. This means that ECB policy continues to stimulate the economy, at a time when inflation and inflation expectations continue to move higher. The ECB will be hard-pressed to find the balance of raising rates without tipping the weak eurozone economy into a recession.

Overshadowed by Powell’s hawkish speech at Jackson Hole was a host of weak US releases. Personal income and spending data both missed expectations, while the Core PCE Index, the Fed’s preferred inflation gauge, fell to 0.1% in July MoM, down from 0.6% in June and shy of the estimate of 0.3%. The weak numbers mean that the Fed may have to ease back on rate hikes, despite Powell’s hawkish speech, as the data continue to indicate that the economy is slowing in response to the Fed’s tightening. If upcoming releases indicate that the economy is losing steam, the dollar will be under pressure.

EUR/USD Technical

• EUR/USD has support at 0.9985 and 0.9880
• There is resistance at 1.0068 and 1.0173