EUR/USD struggles to find direction, returns to 1.1830 area
- EUR/USD pair remains on track to close flat on Thursday.
- US Dollar Index continues to move sideways above 92.00.
- Focus shifts to July Nonfarm Payrolls report from the US.
After moving sideways around 1.1830 in the first half of the day, the EUR/USD pair rose above 1.1850 but failed to gather bullish momentum. As of writing, the pair was virtually unchanged on the day at 1.1835.
Eyes on US July NFP data
Earlier in the day, the modest USD weakness helped EUR/USD push higher. The US Dollar Index (DXY), which gained 0.23% on Wednesday, declined to 92.11 in the early American session but didn't have a tough time staging a rebound. In the absence of high-tier macroeconomic data releases, the 3% increase witnessed in the 10-year US T-bond yield seems to be helping the greenback stay resilient against its rivals. At the moment, the DXY is flat on the day at 92.27.
Earlier in the day, the US Department of Labor reported that Initial Jobless Claims declined by 14,000 to 385,000 in the week ending July 31. However, investors paid little to no attention to this data ahead of the US Bureau of Labor Statistics' July jobs report.
Previewing the labour market data, "the economic calendar is pointing to an increase of 880,000 positions in Friday's official Nonfarm Payrolls report for July," noted FXStreet analyst Yohay Elam. "Even if the NFP headline falls short of a robust figure, markets are already more nervous and risk-averse – a mood that favors the US dollar."
Nonfarm Payrolls Preview: Why the dollar could surge in (almost) any scenario.
Technical levels to watch for