On Friday, EUR declined 0.87% against the USD and closed at 1.2994. Demand for the greenback soared after the reports that hiring took place at a much faster pace than expected in the US last month.
The US Department of Labor reported that total nonfarm payroll employment surged by 236K jobs in February, the highest since November 2012 and more than the market expectation of 160K job additions. Moreover, the unemployment rate fell to 7.7% in February, the lowest level since December 2008, as against the market expectation to remain unchanged from January’s level of 7.9%.
The single currency came under pressure earlier, after official data showed that industrial production in Germany remained flat in January, disappointing expectations for a 0.5% rise, following a 0.6% increase the previous month.
In the Asian session, at GMT0400, the pair is trading at 1.2999, with the EUR trading marginally higher from Friday’s close.
The pair is expected to find support at 1.2924, and a fall through could take it to the next support level of 1.2850. The pair is expected to find its first resistance at 1.3104, and a rise through could take it to the next resistance level of 1.3210.
In economic news later today, Germany’s trade balance is expected to reveal a surplus for the month of January, while the French industrial output is expected to post a positive figure in January.
The currency pair is trading below its 20 Hr and 50 Hr moving averages.