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• EUR/USD posts modest gains to near 1.0820 in Wednesday’s early Asian session. 
• US job openings dropped to the lowest level since early 2021. 
• The ECB is widely anticipated to cut its Deposit Facility Rate again this year.

The EUR/USD pair recovers to around 1.0820 during the early Asian session on Wednesday. The upside for the major pair remains limited amid ongoing uncertainty ahead of the US presidential election and anticipation of key US data releases.

Job openings were down by 418,000 to 7.443 million by the last day of September, the lowest level since January 2021, according to the Labor Department's Bureau of Labor Statistics in its Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey, or JOLTS report. This figure came in worse than the expectation of 7.99 million. 

Meanwhile, the US Conference Board’s Consumer Confidence Index rose to 108.7 in October from an upwardly revised 99.2 in September, above the market consensus of 99.5. This figure registered the highest in nine months as perceptions of the labor market improved. 

Traders increase their bets that the US Federal Reserve (Fed) will only cut rates by 25 basis points (bps) in the November meeting, attracting buyers of the US Dollar (USD). Later on Wednesday, the US ADP Employment Change for October and the advanced Gross Domestic Product (GDP) for the third quarter might offer some hints about the size and the pace of the US Fed rate cut. 

Across the pond, the European Central Bank (ECB) is widely expected to cut its Deposit Facility Rate again, but traders are split on whether the ECB will continue the rate-cut cycle with the usual pace of 25 basis points (bps) or go for larger reductions. Money markets are still pricing in nearly 50% odds of the ECB rate reductions by half a percentage point in the December meeting.

Investors will keep an eye on Germany’s preliminary Consumer Price Index (CPI) inflation data, along with the flash Q3 GDP Growth Rate from Germany and the Eurozone. The ECB’s Schnabel is scheduled to speak later in the day. 

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