The absence of important fundamental statistics, along with the anticipation for the beginning of the symposium, limits the further upside potential of the euro. It will directly depend on the new statements that will be made tomorrow by the president of the European Central Bank, Mario Draghi.
In the morning, data came out indicating a good growth of sentiment in the manufacturing sector of France for the month of August this year. According to the report of the National Bureau of Statistics of France, Insee, the leading index of confidence in the manufacturing sector for the month of August rose to 111 points against 108 points in July this year. Economists had expected the index to be at 108 points.
Such good indicators show that France's GDP can maintain its growth in the third quarter of this year.
Data on the US labor market, which was today's most important statistic, did not support the US dollar.
According to the report of the US Department of Labor, the number of Americans who submitted new applications for unemployment benefits last week increased. So, for the week from August 13 to August 19, the number of initial applications for unemployment benefits increased by 2,000 for a total of 234,000. Economists had expected the number of new applications to be 235,000.
Today, a statement was made by another representative of the Federal Reserve. The President of the Federal Reserve-Kansas City, Esther George, said that the Fed should gradually begin to reduce the balance sheet. Inflation below 2% should not be an obstacle in raising the interest rate. Esther also drew attention to the fact that low inflation is caused partly by the moderate growth in US GDP for the first half of the year.
As for the technical picture of the EURUSD pair, it did not undergo significant changes compared to the morning forecast. Only the consolidation of resistance at 1.1800 could lead to a larger euro growth in the area of 1.1840, but no more than that. Only a new information can provide an opportunity that will to lead to a stronger demand for risky assets with the renewal of the pair to the level of 1.1880. Pressure on the euro could rise in the event of an unsuccessful attempt to rebound from 1.1780, This will lead to a return to the area of yesterday's low, where the support level was at 1.1750.
The British pound declined in the Asian session but then rose sharply versus the US dollar against the background of GDP growth.
According to a report by the National Bureau of Statistics, UK companies' investment for the second quarter of this year remained unchanged from the previous quarter and compared to the same period last year amounted to 43.8 billion British pounds.
The GDP data had a positive effect on the quotations of the British pound. According to the data presented, the UK GDP grew by 0.3% compared to the previous quarter and by 1.2% compared to the same period in 2016.