Trading the News: U.S. Consumer Confidence

U.S. Consumer Confidence

A downtick in the U.S. Consumer Confidence survey may spark fresh 2017-highs in EUR/USD as mixed developments coming out of the real economy dampens bets for an imminent Fed rate-hike.

Why Is This Event Important:

Narrowing expectations for higher borrowing-costs may continue to dampen the appeal of the U.S. dollar as Fed Fund Futures now highlight a 40% probability for a move in December. In turn, the greenback may continue to exhibit a bearish behavior following the September meeting especially if Chair Janet Yellen and Co. project a more shallow path for the benchmark interest rate.

Nevertheless, the FOMC may start to unload the balance sheet in an effort to counteract the weakness in U.S. yields, and the preset course to wind down the asset-purchases may sap the bearish sentiment surrounding the dollar as the other major central banks continue to embark on their easing programs.

Impact that the U.S. Consumer Confidence survey has had on EUR/USD during the last print

Period

Data Released

Estimate

Actual

Pips Change

(1 Hour post event )

Pips Change

(End of Day post event)

JUL

2017

07/25/2017 14:00:00 GMT

116.5

121.1

-26

-51

July 2017 U.S. Consumer Confidence

EUR/USD 10-Minute Chart

EUR/USD Chart

The Conference Board’s U.S. Consumer Confidence survey unexpectedly climbed to 121.1 from a revised 117.3 in June to mark the second-highest reading for the year. Nevertheless, a deeper look at the report showed 12-month inflation expectations sitting at the 2017-low, with the readying holding steady at an annualized 4.6% for the second month in July. The U.S. dollar gained ground following the pickup in household sentiment, with EUR/USD struggling to hold above the 1.1700 handle as the pair ended the day at 1.1645.