EUR/USD holds onto Wednesday’s recovery slightly below the round-level resistance of 1.1100 in Thursday’s European session. The major currency pair bounced back sharply on Wednesday after the release of the weaker-than-projected United States (US) JOLTS Job Openings data for July boosted market expectations for the Federal Reserve (Fed) to begin the long-awaited policy-easing cycle aggressively.

A sharp increase in market speculation for the Fed’s large interest rate cut this month weighed heavily on the US Dollar (USD). The US Dollar Index (DXY), which tracks the Greenback’s value against six major currencies, extends its downside to near 101.20. 

The JOLTS Job Openings data showed that job vacancies posted in July were lower at 7.67 million from a downwardly revised 7.91 million in June and below the estimates of 8.1 million. Weak job market data came in as red flags to the labor market. 

For meaningful updates on current labor market conditions, investors await the US Nonfarm Payrolls (NFP) data for August, which will be published on Friday. 

In today’s session, the US Dollar will be influenced by the ADP Employment Change and ISM Services Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) data for August, which will be published at 12:15 GMT and 14:00 GMT, respectively. Economists estimate that payrolls in the private sector rose by 145K from 122K in July. In the same period, activity in the service sector is projected to have expanded at a slower pace, with PMI coming in at 51.1 from the prior reading of 51.4. Upbeat private payrolls and Services PMI data would diminish market speculation for Fed large interest rate cuts, while soft data would strengthen them.

Daily digest market movers: EUR/USD turns sideways after a sharp recovery ahead of US heavy-data day

• EUR/USD trades in a tight range below 1.1100, with investors focusing on a slew of US economic data. In the Eurozone, investors await the Retail Sales data for July that will influence the next move in the Euro (EUR), which will be published at 09:00 GMT. Majorly, the Euro will be guided by the market speculation for the European Central Bank’s (ECB) September monetary policy, in which the central bank is expected to cut its key borrowing rates. 
• Economists estimate the Retail Sales to have grown by 0.1% after contracting 0.3% in June on a monthly as well as annual basis. A slight improvement in sales at retail stores would be insufficient to dampen market speculation that the ECB will resume its policy-easing cycle this month, which started in June, after pausing in July.
• The ECB is widely anticipated to cut interest rates this month as officials have remained worried about poor growth prospects, with confidence that inflationary pressures continue to ease consistently.  ECB Governing Council member François Villeroy de Galhau said in an interview with Bloomberg last week, “There are good reasons for the central bank to consider cutting its key interest rates in September.” Villeroy added, "Unfortunately, our growth remains too weak.” He further added, “The balance of risks still needs to be monitored in Europe."
• Meanwhile, Eurozone growth concerns have deepened further as the final estimate HCOB PMI report showed that the overall economic activity expanded at a slower pace of 51.0 from the flash reading of 51.2. The Composite PMI expanded moderately due to slower growth in the service sector and a continuous contraction in the manufacturing sector.

Technical Analysis: EUR/USD aims to recapture 1.1100

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EUR/USD trades sideways near 1.1080 on Thursday after a sharp recovery from a fresh two-week low near 1.1025. The near-term outlook of the major currency pair has improved as it manages to gain firm footing near the 20-day Exponential Moving Average (EMA) around 1.1055. 

The longer-term outlook is also bullish as the 50-day and 200-day EMAs at 1.0970 and 1.0865, respectively, are sloping higher. Also, the shared currency pair holds the Rising Channel breakout on a daily time frame. 

The 14-day Relative Strength Index (RSI) has declined below 60.00 after turning overbought near 75.00.

On the upside, the recent high of 1.1200 and the July 2023 high at 1.1275 will be the next stop for the Euro bulls. Meanwhile, the downside is expected to remain cushioned near the psychological support of 1.1000.

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