The EURUSD pair traded higher on Wednesday, December 8. The single currency rose 0.66% to 1.1341 against the US currency. The pair started trending upward at the opening of the Asian session and picked up momentum during North American trading.

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The euro tapped into a sharp upturn in the EURGBP cross triggered by reports of new COVID-19 restrictions set to take effect in the UK, as reported by The Financial Times.

Risk appetite was underpinned by easing fears about the potential economic impact of the new Omicron variant. Buyers got an extra boost after Pfizer said that three doses of its COVID-19 vaccine neutralized the Omicron strain in lab tests. With support from the cross, price action rallied to an intraday high of 1.1354.

Today’s macro agenda (GMT+3)  

• 10:00 Germany: trade balance (October)
• 16:30 US: initial jobless claims (December)
• 22:00 Canada: BoC Toni Gravelle speech

Current outlook

Traders' focus now shifts to the release of US CPI on Friday, which could impact the Fed's decision to remove accommodation more quickly and open the door for a rate hike. Today’s macro data schedule again looks extremely light.

Technical analysis

In Asian trading, major currencies have been showing mixed performance. The Australian, New Zealand dollars, sterling and yen are trading in positive territory. The euro is under pressure as cross currenies are correcting lower after yesterday's rally.

Price action retraced 23.6% of the advance from 1.1277 to 1.1355. The demand for risk assets remains in play. Key resistance for buyers is the 1.1383-1.1387 zone. Until Friday, nothing prevents buyers from climbing up to the resistance level and pausing there until the US November CPI report comes out.