EUR/USD Breaks Downtrend as ECB Rate Bets Strengthen
The EUR/USD pair broke its downtrend as the ECB rate bets strengthened. The pair traded at 1.1501 on Friday, down 0.23% from the previous session but holding above the 1.15 handle and hovering near its highest level since June 16.
The week's path explains everything about where the pair sits. Going into Wednesday's Fed decision, EUR/USD was pinned near 1.1386 with the dollar sitting at a one-month high on safe-haven flows out of the Middle East conflict. Markets had assigned roughly a one-in-three chance to a surprise Fed hike.
The committee held, three regional presidents dissented in favor of a hike, and on paper that reads hawkish. The currency market shrugged it off entirely and sold dollars, because a hawkish hold with no forward guidance is not a hike.