Euro trades at top of its range after hawkish comments from ECB’s Wunsch

• Euro vs US Dollar presses the top of its range after hawkish comments from Belgium central bank President Pierre Wunsch
• The pair is in a medium-term uptrend which is favored to extend.
• The US Dollar benefits from strong macroeconomic data which suggests the Federal Reserve will have to continue raising interest rates. 

The Euro (EUR) trades in the upper 1.09s versus the US Dollar (USD) as the new week begins. The single currency is underpinned by market expectations of higher interest rates down the line drawing greater capital inflows into Europe. From a technical perspective, the overall trend is up, giving bulls a wind-in-their-sail’s advantage. 

EUR/USD market movers

• The Euro is underpinned by comments from Belgian central bank president Pierre Wunsch, who said “We are waiting for wage growth and core inflation to go down... before we can arrive at the point where we can pause.”
• This supports comments from European Central Bank (ECB) President Christine Lagarde who said there is still “some way to go” before the ECB finishes hiking interest rates. 
• The US Dollar benefits from US PMI data pushing into expansionary territory. 
• USD further underpinned by hawkish comments from St. Louis Fed’s Bullard who expects more rate hikes due to persistent inflation and overblown recession fears.   
• Unexpectedly strong first quarter earnings from US megabanks suggests the sector’s March crisis may be in the rear-view mirror, further supporting the Greenback. 
• Data out on May 2 could be key according to European Central Bank’s chief economist Philip Lane. It includes the ECB’s Bank Lending Survey (BLS), giving a snapshot of the health of the region’s banks, and April HICP inflation. 
• German IFO survey at 08:00 GMT is the next major release on Monday.
• For the US Dollar the Chicago Fed National Activity Index is the most important release, out at 13:30 GMT. 

EUR/USD technical analysis: Triangle in an uptrend

EUR/USD continues in a range bound consolidation within a broader medium-term uptrend that started over eight months ago. The odds favor a continuation of the overarching bull trend.

EUR/USD: Daily Chart

A break and daily close above the 1.1075 year-to-date highs of April 14 would confirm a continuation of the Euro's uptrend to the next key resistance level at around 1.1190, where the 200-week Simple Moving Average (SMA) is situated.

A break and daily close below the important lower high at 1.0830, on the other hand, would bring into doubt the validity of the uptrend and could see losses extend down to a confluence of support at 1.0775-1.0800, and a possible reversal of the dominant trend.