EUR/USD steady after Mfg. PMIs, US NFP looms

The euro is flat on Friday, after sustaining sharp losses a day earlier. In the European session, EUR/USD is trading at 1.0844.

Eurozone, German manufacturing struggling

There wasn’t much to cheer about after today’s Manufacturing PMI reports for Germany and the eurozone. Although both PMIs improved slightly in August, business activity continues to decline in the manufacturing sector. The Eurozone PMI came in at 43.5 in August, up from 42.7 in July and just shy of the consensus estimate of 43.7. In Germany, manufacturing is in even worse shape – the August reading improved from 38.8 to 39.1, matching the consensus.

Manufacturing is in deep trouble in the eurozone and in Germany, the largest economy in the bloc. The PMIs point to a constant string of declines since June 2022. The volume of new orders is down and exports, already struggling in a weak global environment, have been hit by the slowdown in China which has reduced demand.

Germany’s weak manufacturing data is particularly disturbing. Once a global powerhouse, Germany has seen economic growth slide and is officially in a recession, with two consecutive quarters of negative growth in the fourth quarter of 2022 and the first quarter in 2023.

US nonfarm payrolls expected to ease

In the US, the nonfarm payroll report is expected to decline slightly to 170,000, compared to 187,000 in the previous reading. If nonfarm payrolls are within expectations, it will mark the third straight month of gains below 200,000, a clear signal that the US labour market is cooling down. A soft nonfarm payrolls report would cement an expected pause by the Federal Reserve next week and also bolster the case for the Fed to hold rates for the next few months and possibly into 2024.

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EUR/USD Technical

• EUR/USD is tested support at 1.0831 earlier. Below, there is support at 1.0731
• 1.0896 and 1.0996 are the next resistance lines

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