EUR/USD recovered ground on Wednesday, but hits ceiling post-FOMC

• EUR/USD climbed to 1.0850 before facing a pullback after Fed rate call.
• FOMC “dot plot” teases less rate cuts in 2024 than previously expected.
• ECB talking points to round out the Euro’s week.

EUR/USD launched higher on Wednesday, climbing after broad-market risk appetite surged following a cooler-than-expected print in US Consumer Price Index (CPI) inflation, but a hawkish tilt to the Federal Reserve’s latest update to its dot plot of interest rate expectations crimped market sentiment to round out the day.

Forex Today: US inflation dominates headlines

According to the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) and its Summary of Economic Projections (SEP), only a single quarter-point rate cut is now expected in 2024. Market hopes for Fed rate cuts have steadily clashed with the Federal Reserve’s own rate cut expectations through 2024, and according to the CME’s FedWatch Tool, rate markets are still pricing in over 60% odds of at least a 25 basis-point rate trim on September 18.

Read more: Jerome Powell comments on rate outlook after keeping policy settings unchanged

Eurogroup meetings on Thursday and Friday, pan-European Industrial Production figures, and several speeches from European Central Bank (ECB) policymakers will wrap up the trading week’s Euro events, while US jobless claims and the Michigan Consumer Sentiment Index will provide perspective after the Fed’s latest rate call.

European Industrial Production figures for April are slated for Thursday, with median market forecasts expecting figures to ease to 0.2% MoM compared to the previous 0.6%. US Initial Jobles Claims for the week ended June 7 are expected later on Thursday, with investors expecting 225K new jobless claimants compared to the previous week’s 229K.

A handful of speeches from ECB central planners smatter Friday’s economic calendar, and the Univeristy of Michigan’s Consumer Sentiment Index for June is expected to recover to 72.0 from 69.1.

EUR/USD technical outlook

EUR/USD is once again mired in congestion at the 200-day Exponential Moving Average (EMA) at 1.0803. Wednesday’s bullish push dragged the pair back into contention with a descending trendline drawn from 2024’s peak bids near 1.1150, but near-term technical resistance is keeping the Fiber pinned. The pair has etched in a near-term technical rejection from 1.0850, and the way is open for a bearish return to this week’s low bids near 1.0720.

EUR/USD hourly chart

EUR/USD daily chart