EUR/USD has posted gains for two days straight and the upward trend continues on Tuesday. Currently, the pair is trading at 1.1212, up 0.17% on the day. After a quiet start to the week, there are a host of German and eurozone events. German GfK consumer climate remained pegged at 10.4, just above the forecast of 10.3 points. Investors will be keeping a keen eye on German CPI, with an estimate of 0.5%, and eurozone Flash GDP, which is expected to rise slightly to 0.3%. In the U.S., Chicago PMI is expected to rise to 59.1, and CB Consumer Confidence is also projected to climb to 126.2 points.
Is a U.S-China trade deal imminent? Negotiations will continue on April 30, in Beijing, and U.S. Treasury Secretary Mnuchin waxed positive on Sunday, saying that the talks were in their “final laps”. However, Mnuchin cautioned that the talks could still end without an agreement. The nasty trade war between the two largest economies in the world has rocked the global economy and curbed growth. If the sides can hammer out an agreement, investor risk appetite would likely soar, which could boost the euro against the safe-haven greenback.
The Federal Reserve has said it expects to hold interest rate levels for the rest of the year, and the most recent inflation numbers will reinforce that stance. The Core PCE Price Index, which is the Federal Reserve’s preferred gauge for inflation, came in at 0.0% in March and 0.1% in February (the two events were released on Tuesday due to the government shutdown earlier this year). On an annualized basis, the indicator gained 1.6%, just shy of the estimate of 1.7%. There was better news from consumer spending, which jumped 0.9% in March, compared to the estimate of 0.7%. The strong reading was a result of increased spending on motor vehicles and health care.
