EUR/USD rises with US presidential voting begins

05 Nov 2024, 10:08 by Sagar Dua · FXStreet

EUR/USD rises to near 1.0900 as the US presidential elections kicks-off, which will influence market sentiment.
Investors expect a neck-to-neck competition between Kamala Harris and Donald Trump.
The ECB is expected to cut interest rates by 25 bps in the December meeting.

EUR/USD gains to near 1.0890 in Tuesday’s New York session. The major currency pair remains shy of the key resistance of 1.0900 on the United States (US) presidential election day. The US Dollar Index (DXY), which tracks the Greenback’s value against six major currencies, trades steadily near 103.80 at the time of writing.

The Greenback exhibited a strong buying trend in October as traders were pricing in former US President Donald Trump’s victory. However, it struggles to extend its upside further as traders expect tough competition between Trump and current Vice President Kamala Harris now. The likelihood of Trump’s victory has witnessed a pullback after the Des Moines Register/Mediacom Poll showed Harris gaining a slight lead of three points in Iowa state, where the Republican party gained a clear majority in 2016 and 2020.

“A Red Wave (favoring Republicans) would kick-start a sizeable USD rally. It would rekindle memories of US Exceptionalism, anchored by tariffs, tax cuts, deregulation, and negative impacts on the outlook for EZ and China," according to analysts at TD Securities.

While the US presidential election will be the key event for the US Dollar this week, investors will also pay close attention to the Federal Reserve’s (Fed) monetary policy decision, which will be announced on Thursday. The Fed is expected to reduce interest rates by 25 basis points (bps) to 4.50%-4.75%, according to the CME FedWatch tool. Investors will focus on Fed Chair Jerome Powell's speech for fresh cues over likely monetary policy action in December.

On the economic data front, investors await the US ISM Services Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) data for October, which will be published at 15:00 GMT. The Services PMI is estimated to come in at 53.8, lower than 54.9 in September, suggesting that the activities in the service sector expanded but at a slower pace.

Daily digest market movers: EUR/USD gains as US Dollar edges lower

EUR/USD stays firm after the opening of polls for US election voting. The major currency pair is expected to be mainly guided by the US Dollar in an event-packed week.
While the Euro (EUR) struggles for direction against the US Dollar, it performs weakly against Asia-Pacific currencies after upbeat Caixin Manufacturing and Services PMI. Still, it outperforms other major currencies as traders pare European Central Bank (ECB) dovish bets.
Market participants expect the ECB to cut the Deposit Facility Rate again in December by a usual size of 25 bps. Earlier, investors were anticipating a 50-bps interest rate cut by the ECB in its last policy meeting of the year as few officials highlighted growing risks to economic growth and emphasized the need for large economic stimulus to boost domestic spending and investment.
ECB’s large rate cut bets diminished after better-than-expected Eurozone Q3 Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth, which receded fears of an economic downturn. Meanwhile, revised German and Eurozone HCOB Manufacturing PMI estimates have improved against flash readings. However, the manufacturing output index remained below the 50.0 threshold, suggesting that the contraction trend remains intact.

Technical Analysis: EUR/USD struggles around 1.0900

EUR/USD struggles for an establishment above the immediate resistance of 1.0900, which also aligns with the 200-day Exponential Moving Average (EMA). The pair rebounded sharply towards the end of October after gaining a firm footing near an upward-sloping trendline around 1.0750, which is plotted from the April 16 low at around 1.0600

The 14-day Relative Strength Index (RSI) climbs to near 50.00, suggesting some signs of a bullish reversal. However, this will only be confirmed if the RSI (14) climbs above 60.0 decisively.

Looking up, if the shared currency pair breaks above the 200-day EMA around 1.0900, it could rise to near the September 11 low around 1.1000. On the downside, the October 23 low of 1.0760 will be the key support area for the Euro bulls.

Economic Indicator

Fed Interest Rate Decision

The Federal Reserve (Fed) deliberates on monetary policy and makes a decision on interest rates at eight pre-scheduled meetings per year. It has two mandates: to keep inflation at 2%, and to maintain full employment. Its main tool for achieving this is by setting interest rates – both at which it lends to banks and banks lend to each other. If it decides to hike rates, the US Dollar (USD) tends to strengthen as it attracts more foreign capital inflows. If it cuts rates, it tends to weaken the USD as capital drains out to countries offering higher returns. If rates are left unchanged, attention turns to the tone of the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) statement, and whether it is hawkish (expectant of higher future interest rates), or dovish (expectant of lower future rates).