Bullish View
Set a buy-stop at 1.1360 and a take-profit at 1.1450.
Add a stop-loss at 1.1277 (pivot point).
Timeline: 1-2 days.
Bearish View
Set a sell-stop at 1.1300 and a take-profit at 1.1235.
Add a stop-loss at 1.1360.
The EUR/USD pair held steady after a new report about the Omicron variant emerged. The pair also rose after the relatively strong economic data from the United States. It rose to a high of 1.1338, which was higher than last week’s low of 1.1235.
Omicron Variant Severity
New reports published on Wednesday provided more insights on the Omicron variant. According to South Africa’s National Institute for Communicable Diseases, 80% of Omicron patients were less likely to get hospitalized.
The report coincided with another one from the UK that showed that the symptoms of the disease were less severe. Therefore, the EUR/USD rose after this report because of the risk-on sentiment among investors as fears of the variant waned.
The pair also rose after the relatively positive economic numbers from the United States. Data published by the US statistics agency showed that the economy expanded by 2.3% in the third quarter. This was a better estimate than the previous estimate of 2.1%.
Additional data shed more positive signs about the US economy. The Conference Board said that the country’s consumer confidence rose from 111.9 in November to 115.8 in December. These numbers suggested that consumers were optimistic about the economy even as inflation remains at a multi-decade high. Consumer confidence is an important number since it provide good hints about the consumption.
The EUR/USD pair also rose after the latest US existing home sales numbers. The data revealed that sales rose from 6.34 million in November to 6.46 million in December.
Later today, the key mover for the pair will be economic data from the US. The country will publish the latest new home sales, initial jobless claims, and durable goods orders.
EUR/USD analysis
The four-hour chart shows that the EUR/USD pair has been moving sideways in the past few days. Along the way, the pair has formed a rectangle pattern whose support and resistance levels are at 1.1235 and 1.1360, respectively. The current price is slightly below the upper side of this channel.
The pair has moved slightly above the first resistance of the standard pivot point. Also, it has risen above the 25-day and 50-day moving averages while the Relative Strength Index (RSI) has been in an upward trend.
Therefore, the pair will likely keep rising as bulls target the upper side of the channel at 1.1360. A move above that level will signal that bulls have prevailed. Still, we can’t rule out another pullback as bears target the lower side of the chanel.
