Euro falls below 1.08

The EUR/USD pair continues to lose ground for the second successive day, stretching lower to near 1.0790 during the European session on Thursday. The US Dollar (USD) gains upward support against the Euro (EUR), fuelled by Federal Reserve (Fed) Chair Jerome Powell's dismissal of a rate cut in the upcoming March meeting. Powell’s comments have also supported US Treasury yields. However, the Euro attempts to recover intraday losses after the release of mixed Eurozone inflation data.

The Euro faced difficulties following softer preliminary Consumer Price Index (CPI) data from Germany released on Wednesday. This has heightened market expectations of an interest rate cut by the European Central Bank (ECB) in June. However, earlier in the week, ECB Vice President Luis de Guindos indicated that the ECB would contemplate interest rate cuts only when there is confidence that inflation aligns with the central bank's 2% goal.

ECB member Mario Centeno has indicated that if inflation maintains its current trajectory in the upcoming months, the next likely move by the ECB would be to cut rates. Should this occur, it could mark the initiation of a cycle aimed at the normalization of interest rates.

The Eurozone preliminary Core Harmonized Index of Consumer Prices (YoY) increased by 3.3%, higher than the expected 3.2% growth in January but lower than the 3.4% prior. The annual Consumer Price Index came in at 2.8% as expected against the previous reading of 2.9%. The month-over-month report showed a decline of 0.4%, swinging from the 0.2% rise in December.

German Consumer Price Index (CPI) for January showed a year-on-year increase of 2.9%, lower than the expected 3.3% from December's reading of 3.7%. Meanwhile, the monthly consumer inflation met expectations, rising to 0.2% from the previous reading of 0.1%. The Harmonized Index of Consumer Prices YoY increased 3.1%, lower than the previous figure of 3.8%.