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The euro and franc found themselves in the red as risk-taking picked up in the previous week. What’s coming up next?

Only low to mid-tier reports are on this week’s docket for both European currencies, so the focus might stay on overall market sentiment.

Here are the potential catalysts to watch out for:

ECB head Lagarde’s speech (May 27, 8:30 am GMT)

  • Head of the central bank is due to speak about the ECB’s response to the coronavirus at the European Youth Event 2020
  • Optimistic remarks on the Franco-German recovery plan might keep the shared currency supported
  • Lagarde’s speech comes after the release of the ECB Financial Stability Review on May 26, 2:00 pm GMT
  • Updates on the Pandemic Emergency Purchase Program are also expected, with speculations for an increase of 200-250 billion EUR next month

Mid-tier euro zone data

  • German preliminary CPI (May 28) to tick 0.1% higher after previous 0.4% gain
  • German import prices (May 29, 7:00 am GMT) to show 1.5% drop after earlier 3.5% slump
  • German retail sales (May 29) to take 10.0% hit in April
  • French consumer spending (May 29, 7:45 am GMT) and CPI likely to print dips as well
  • Eurozone flash headline CPI (May 29, 10:00 am GMT) to come in at 0.4% and core CPI to hold steady at 0.9%

Low-tier Swiss data

  • Trade balance due May 26, 7:00 am GMT
  • Credit Suisse Economic Expectations index (May 27, 9:00 am GMT) to dip from earlier 12.7 reading
  • KOF Economic Barometer (May 29, 8:00 am GMT) to improve from 63.5 to 70.2

Overall risk appetite

  • Market watchers are still keeping tabs on the COVID-19 pandemic, with stronger reactions to positive developments like quarantine measures being eased or vaccine trials going well
  • Tensions between the U.S. and China also impact risk sentiment, along with brewing conflict in Hong Kong

Technical snapshot

EUR Pairs Moving Averages from MarketMilk
EUR Pairs Moving Averages from MarketMilk
  • Only EUR/AUD and EUR/NZD are in the bearish region.
  • Stochastic shows that EUR/JPY and EUR/GBP might also see a return in selling pressure as both pairs are overbought.
EUR Pairs Stochastic from MarketMilk
EUR Pairs Stochastic from MarketMilk
  • Franc pairs are also looking mixed, based on moving averages.
  • The 50 MA suggests that most pairs are bullish, but the longer-term 200 MA is giving off bearish signals.
CHF Pairs Moving Averages from MarketMilk
CHF Pairs Moving Averages from MarketMilk

Missed last week’s price action? Read the EUR & CHF price recap for May 18 – 22!