US Q2 GDP Overview

Thursday's economic docket highlights the release of the Advance second-quarter US GDP report, at 12:30 GMT. Having contracted by 1.6% in the previous quarter, the world's largest economy is expected to return to growth and narrowly avoided a so-called 'technical' recession. GDP likely grew at a meagre 0.3% annualized pace during the April-June period, though some economists anticipate a drop in activity for the second successive quarter.

According to Valeria Bednarik, Chief Analyst at FXStreet, “Macroeconomic data points to heightened downward risks for the economy, particularly figures linked to the last half of the quarter, as spending retreated sharply.”

How Could it Affect EUR/USD?

Ahead of the key release, the US dollar stages a goodish rebound from its lowest level since July 6 touched earlier this Thursday. A stronger GDP print would be enough to reinforce expectations that the Fed would still hike 50 bps at each meeting in the remainder of this year. This would be enough to provide a fresh lift to the greenback and force the EUR/USD pair to prolong its intraday retracement slide from the 1.0235 region.

Conversely, a weaker reading would add to growing market worries about an economic downturn. This might continue to weigh on investors' sentiment and offer support to the safe-haven greenback. Apart from this, concerns about an energy crisis in the Eurozone suggest that the path of least resistance for the EUR/USD pair is to the downside.

Eren Sengezer, Editor FXStreet, outlined important technical levels to trade the EUR/USD pair: “The Fibonacci 38.2% retracement level of the latest downtrend forms strong resistance at 1.0230, which is also the upper limit of the 10-day-old trading range. With a four-hour close above that level, the pair could target 1.0300 (psychological level, Fibonacci 50% retracement) and 1.0320 (200-period SMA on the four-hour chart).”

“On the downside, 1.0200 (50-period SMA, psychological level) aligns as initial support before 1.0150 (Fibonacci 23.6% retracement, 100-period SMA) and 1.0100 (psychological level, static level),” Eren added further.

Key Notes

  •  US Gross Domestic Product Preview: Would the US avoid a technical recession?

  •  US GDP Preview: Win-win for the dollar? Economy's flirt with recession to boost the buck

  •  EUR/USD Forecast: Euro needs to clear 1.0230 to attract buyers

About US GDP

The Gross Domestic Product Annualized released by the US Bureau of Economic Analysis shows the monetary value of all the goods, services and structures produced within a country in a given period of time. GDP Annualized is a gross measure of market activity because it indicates the pace at which a country's economy is growing or decreasing. Generally speaking, a high reading or a better than expected number is seen as positive for the USD, while a low reading is negative.