EURUSD: Fed spoiled Holiday season

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The FOMC cut interest rates by 25 bps at their December meeting, which was expected by the markets. Still, in an after the meeting address to the public, Fed Chair Powell provided some not-so welcomed projections for the following year. At this moment, Fed is expecting fewer rate cuts in 2025, from initially projected, with a 50 bps current baseline. This change comes from expectations of a higher inflation in 2025. The PCE indicator is expected to end next year at 2,5%, versus 2,2% previously forecasted, while its targeted 2% is expected to reach in 2027.

The US Retail Sales increased in November by 0,7% for the month, above market expectation of 0,5%. Retail sales increased by 3,8% on a yearly basis. The Industrial Production was down by 0,1% in November, which was lower from market estimate of +0,3%. The IP on a yearly basis was down by -0,9%. Building Permits preliminary for November were higher by 6,1%. The GDP Growth rate final for Q3 is 3,1%, higher from market estimate of 2,8%. The PCE Prices final for Q3 were higher by 1,5% for the quarter, in line with market expectations. The PCE index was up by 0,1% in November for the month, while core PCE reached also 0,1% in November. Personal Income was up by 0,3% in November, while Personal Spending reached 0,4% for the month. The PCE index stands at 2,4% for the year, which was lower from market estimate at 2,5%. The Michigan Consumer Sentiment final for December was published, reaching the level of 74,0, and the five year inflation expectations of 3%.

The HCOB Manufacturing PMI Flash for Germany in December was standing at 42,5, lower from market forecast of 43,1. At the same time, the same indicator for services stands better at the level of 51,0, higher from market estimate of 49,3. The Ifo Business Climate in Germany for December was 84,7, again a bit lower from estimated 85,6. The ZEW Economic Sentiment Index in Germany in December exceeded market expectations with a value of 15,7, while the forecasted figure was 6,5. Inflation rate in the EuroZone, final for November, was standing at 2,2%, a bit lower from estimated 2,3%. The GfK Consumer Confidence in Germany for January is -21,3, lower from market estimate of -22,5.

It was a challenging week on financial markets. The Fed projections for the year 2025 was something that the market did not expect, so the currency pair reacted in a pretty volatile way. The eurusd started the week around 1,05 level and moved all the way down to lowest weekly level at 1,035. Still, at Friday's trading session, the currency pair reverted a bit, ending the week at 1,0430. The RSI reached an oversold territory, but ended the week at the level of 40. The moving average of 50 days continues to strongly diverge from MA200 counterparty, indicating that no cross should be expected in the near term.

The following week is a Holiday week on the Western markets. This means finally some less volatility, although this was a very challenging year-end. As seen during the previous week, the 1,04 support line might continue to be under pressure in the following period. Still, due to the Holiday, it should not be expected that this level is going to be breached till the year-end.

Important news to watch during the week ahead are:
EUR: Holiday season starts from Wednesday, and no significant data is scheduled to be published.
USD: Although Holiday season starts from Wednesday there will be only a few macro data published: Durable Goods Orders for November are due on December 24th.