EUR/USD Stuck in a Range as ECB Rate Hike Looms

The EUR/USD pair has been stuck in a narrow range for three weeks, unable to break through the 1.1600 handle despite several attempts.

Last week's US Nonfarm Payrolls (NFP) release showed a surprise increase of 162K jobs, sending the EUR/USD down roughly 40 pips but still leaving it above 1.1600 by the end of the day.

The recent German election results, which saw the Alternative for Germany (AfD) party win 43.9% of the vote in Saxony-Anhalt, also had little impact on the pair's movement.

This week, the European Central Bank (ECB) is expected to raise interest rates at its Thursday meeting, with all 65 economists surveyed by Reuters predicting a 0.25% hike to 2.5%, and a further increase to 2.75% priced into the market.