EUR/USD: Euro Struggles to Regain $1.05 as Dollar Traders Weigh In Ahead of Key Events

This week’s nonfarm payrolls will be key to gauging the US economy’s trajectory. And that could mean more pain for the euro. Or some lost pips for the dollar.

• The EURUSD pair was slow to make its moves early Wednesday with traders positioning for a few key reports down the week. The euro was struggling to make its way to higher grounds, barely managing to break above the $1.05 psychological resistance. With that slight tweak to the upside, the European currency has made its way through a 200-pip increase from its 2024 bottom hit late November.
• On November 22, the euro slipped to its absolute low of the year crashing to $1.0330 as traders were flocking to the US dollar in anticipation of Donald Trump’s buck-friendly policies. While there’s been some winding down, the American currency is still a fire-breathing dragon with forex speculators awaiting fresh news either from Trump or from the scheduled economic reports, such as this week’s nonfarm payrolls.
• On deck for Friday, the nonfarm payrolls will show how many new jobs were filled in November. Wall Street is eyeballing labor market growth of 202,000 new hires, up from the troubling 12,000 jobs in October. The unemployment rate is projected to pick up to 4.2% from 4.1% in the month prior. Expect heightened volatility in the lead-up to Friday’s data dump (and maybe some trading opportunities as well).