EUR/USD off highs, near 1.1350 ahead of PMIs

The shared currency is up smalls vs. the greenback so far today, taking EUR/USD to the 1.1355/50 band ahead of opening bell in Euroland.

EUR/USD attention to PMIs, FOMC

Spot is struggling for direction following three consecutive daily declines on Wednesday, currently meandering the area around 1.1350 after the earlier bullish attempt run out of legs in the vicinity of 1.1370.

Geopolitical jitters around North Korea have re-emerged after the recent missile launch, sparking a wave of risk-off sentiment in the global markets and prompting investors to stay vigilant on the UN meeting scheduled for today at 19GMT. The subsequent JPY buying sent USD/JPY lower during the Asian session and at the same time gave legs to the pair’s uptick to daily highs near 1.1370.

In the data space, final services PMIs for the month of June are due in Euroland later in the morning, while US factory orders and the more relevant FOMC minutes will be in centre stage in the NA session.

Market participants will look for any hints on the probable next steps from the Committee regarding extra tightening via rate hikes and the likely timing of the reduction of the Fed’s balance sheet.

EUR/USD levels to watch

At the moment, the pair is up 0.07% at 1.1357 facing the next up barrier at 1.1368 (high Jul.5) followed by 1.1448 (2017 high Jun.30) and finally 1.1466 (high Apr.12 2016). On the downside, a break below 1.1336 (low Jul.4) would target 1.1319 (10-day sma) en route to 1.1252 (21-day sma).