If someone hoped that the release of US inflation data for May would help Jerome Powell unite the divided Federal Open Market Committee, they were disappointed. The slowdown in consumer prices to 4% is a strong argument in favor of a pause in the process of tightening monetary policy by the Fed. At the same time, the core inflation at 5.3% indicates that the central bank’s work is far from over. It is not surprising that the reaction of EUR/USD to this important event on the economic calendar was nervous.

If FOMC hawks do not see the need to skip a move in June, centrists, on the contrary, believe that a pause is necessary. Monetary restriction affects the US economy with a time lag. It takes time to feel its impact. And the Fed wants to buy that time, gather new data, and then make decisions. In this regard, the slowdown in CPI is a strong argument in favor of doing just that. After the release of consumer price data, the futures market increased the probability of keeping the federal funds rate unchanged in June from 79% to 93%.

US inflation dynamics

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Experts at Bloomberg are leaning towards the same opinion. 65 out of 66 specialists believe that following the June FOMC meeting, the borrowing costs will remain at 5.25%. It seems that the Federal Reserve has no choice but to satisfy the desires of both the market and economists.

As for the slowdown in core inflation, not to 5.2% as predicted, but to 5.3% year-on-year, such dynamics serve as a strong argument in favor of keeping the federal funds rate unchanged for an extended period of time. However, the Fed has long been talking about this. Investors didn’t believe it for a long time, but then they were forced to believe. The absence of a “dovish” reversal in 2023 is a bullish argument for the US dollar, although it is largely already priced into EUR/USD quotes.

Similarly, the increase in the deposit rate by 25 basis points to 3.5% at the June meeting of the Governing Council is anticipated by 37 out of 38 Bloomberg experts. The question is whether the European Central Bank (ECB) will be willing to talk about a pause in the future. Inflation in the eurozone is slowing down, but the risk of a recession on the horizon of 2022-2023 indicates that the risks of pushing too hard are high.

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Thus, the verdicts of the Federal Reserve and the ECB are known to investors even before they are delivered. Therefore, the dynamics of EUR/USD will be determined not by how much interest rates will be raised, but by the rhetoric of Jerome Powell and Christine Lagarde in their press conferences following the central bank meetings. In the case of the Federal Reserve, the updated FOMC forecasts for the federal funds rate will also be of great importance.

Technically, the inability of the bulls in the major currency pair to overcome significant resistance at 1.081-1.0815 is a sign of their weakness and a reason for selling. However, a return of EUR/USD above this level or a rebound from fair value at 1.0775 could attract new buyers.

The material has been provided by InstaForex Company – www.instaforex.com

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