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Euro slide continues

Date:

Euro tumbles below 1.02

The month of July has been an unmitigated disaster for the euro – with only three trading sessions in the books, EUR/USD has declined a staggering 2.73%. Earlier in the day, the euro dropped to 1.0186, its lowest level since December 2002. The euro appears headed for parity with the US dollar, a psychologically significant level.

The economic outlook in the eurozone is not an encouraging one. Inflation surged to 8.1% in May, surpassing the April record of 7.4%. A peak in inflation remains elusive, and the ECB is way behind the inflation curve – the central bank hasn’t raised interest rates yet, which are in negative territory. Even so, a lukewarm eurozone economy means that raising rates poses the risk of a recession. The energy situation has been deteriorating, as sanctions against Russia have led to counter moves in which Moscow has reduced its gas exports to Europe, which could result in an energy shortage this winter. If Russia reduces oil or gas exports to Europe, prices will soar and this could cause a severe economic downturn.

A strike by Norwegian oil and gas workers on Tuesday threatened to exacerbate the situation. The Norwegian government has stepped in and ended the strike, but investors remain nervous as the eurozone’s energy situation could become precarious.

Today’s data out of the eurozone showed some improvement but did little to raise risk sentiment. Germany’s Factory Orders rose 0.1% in May, up from -1.6% in April but still a negligible gain. It was a similar story for eurozone retail sales, which came in at 0.2% in May after a -1.4% read in April. On Thursday, Germany releases Industrial Production for May, which is expected to slow to 0.7%, down from 0.4%.

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EUR/USD Technical

  • EUR/USD has support at 1.0124. Below, there is support at 1.0075
  •  There is resistance at 1.0221 and 1.0324

This article is for general information purposes only. It is not investment advice or a solution to buy or sell securities. Opinions are the authors; not necessarily that of OANDA Corporation or any of its affiliates, subsidiaries, officers or directors. Leveraged trading is high risk and not suitable for all. You could lose all of your deposited funds.

Kenny Fisher
A highly experienced financial market analyst with a focus on fundamental analysis, Kenneth Fisher’s daily commentary covers a broad range of markets including forex, equities and commodities. His work has been published in several major online financial publications including Investing.com, Seeking Alpha and FXStreet. Based in Israel, Kenny has been a MarketPulse contributor since 2012.

Kenny Fisher

Kenny Fisher

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