Existing home sales in the United States dropped more than expected last month after rising for four consecutive months, official figures revealed on Wednesday. According to the National Association of Realtors, sales fell 3.2% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.39 million units in July, compared to the preceding month's reading of 5.57 million, whereas market analysts anticipated a 0.3% decline to 5.52 million in the reported month. US home resales were 1.6% lower than a year earlier. Nevertheless, analysts view the drop in existing home sales as temporary and expect these sales to pick up soon. Home resales declined in the Northeast, the South and the Midwest; however, jumped 2.5% in the West. Meanwhile, the number of unsold homes on the market increased 0.9% in the seventh month of the year, whereas supply fell 5.8% and the median house price advanced 5.3% year-over-year to $244,100. Other data released by the Energy Information Administration on Wednesday showed a surprise increase in US crude oil inventories. According to the report, US crude stockpiles added 2.5 million barrels in the week ended August 19, following the 2.5% drop seen in the previous seven weeks and surpassing the 0.5 million-barrel fall forecast. After the release, Brent oil declined 1.5% and WTI dropped 1.8%, both trading below the $50 level.
The Eurozone's economic powerhouse has confirmed an economic deceleration in the second quarter of 2016, the second reading of the gross domestic product showed. The growth rate of gross domestic product reached 0.4% or an annualized rate of 1.7% during the second quarter of 2016, confirming the preliminary estimate published by German statistical authority Destatis earlier this August. It marks a significant slowdown from the first quarter, when the economy expanded at a quarterly clip of 0.7%, as the mild winter weather propelled construction. The outcome is in line with an earlier GDP flash estimate. Meanwhile, the continent's traditional exporting powerhouse saw outbound shipments rise 1.2 per cent in the second quarter, with imports slipping 0.1 per cent. Overall, net trade was the biggest single contributor to economic growth, adding 0.6 percentage points to GDP. In addition, domestic consumption, which has been powering the economy for the last 18 months, added 0.2 percentage points, while investment contributed negatively, deducting 0.4 percentage points from the GDP numbers. However, tin a separate news release, Destatis said that Germany registered a budget surplus of 1.2% of GDP in the first half of the year, but cautioned against drawing conclusions for the full year.
Upcoming fundamentals: Data releases and financier symposium
This Thursday will be a busy day for the EUR/USD pair, as there are various data releases and a two day Symposium begins in the US, which brings together finance professionals from around the whole world. First of all at 8:00 GMT the German IFO institute indices for August will be released. There will be three indices, as IFO Business Climate, Current Assessment and Expectations will all be released simultaneously. Afterwards, at 12:30 GMT data from the US will be published, as US Durable Goods for July and US Initial Jobless Claims for August 20 will be out, and the release will be covered by the Dukascopy team live on the webinar. At 13:45 GMT US PMI Services for August will be out, and it will also affect the strength of the US Dollar. However, most important might be the information that will flow form the press conferences happening at the Jackson Hole Symposium of finance professionals, which begins at 14:00 GMT.
EUR/USD breaks out of pattern on Wednesday
Daily chart: On Thursday morning the currency exchange rate found support in the monthly R1 at 1.1263 and slightly rebounded. However it faces the weekly PP at 1.2806 from the upside, which might mean a flat trading session for the rate during today's trading session. However, afterwards it is most likely going to surge, as the SMAs approach from the south. Previously the common European currency depreciated against the US Dollar on Wednesday to such an extent that it fully discarded the previous pattern.Trader bearish sentiment decreases
Spreads (avg,pip) / Trading volume / Volatility
Average forecast says EUR/USD will trade at 1.1050 in November
Meanwhile, traders, who were asked regarding their longer-term views on EUR/USD between July 25 and August 25 expect, on average, the currency pair around 1.1050 by the end of October. Though 48% (-1%) of participants believe the exchange rate will be generally below 1.10 in ninety days, with 26% alone seeing it below 1.06. Alongside, 36% (-1%) of those surveyed reckon the price will trade in the range between 1.10 and 1.18 in three months.