EUR/USD eyes 1.2000 on poor US retail sales

The selling pressure around the buck is now picking up extra pace, lifting EUR/USD to fresh tops in the 1.1980 region.

EUR/USD bid after data

The pair met extra upside pressure after US retail sales contracted at a monthly 0.2% vs. a forecasted 0.1% gain, the worst reading since January 2016. In addition, sales excluding the Autos sector rose below estimates 0.2% inter-month.

Further US data saw the NY Empire State index surpassing expectations at 24.4 for the current month. Ahead in the day, industrial production, capacity utilization and the Reuters/Michigan index are all next on tap.

Spot moved higher to fresh tops beyond 1.1980 in the wake of the releases, albeit it has receded some pips afterwards, all against the backdrop of a generalized selling bias around the greenback.

EUR/USD levels to watch

At the moment, the pair is up 0.41% at 1.1968 and a break above 1.1995 (high Sep.13) would target 1.2041 (high Sep.11) and finally 1.2092 (2017 high Sep.6). On the flip side, the immediate support aligns at 1.1830 (5-month support line) followed by 1.1823 (low Aug.31) and finally 1.1733 (55-day sma).