EUR/USD consolidates around mid-1.0800s ahead of US data, Fed’s Powell

• EUR/USD ticks lower on Wednesday, though the downside remains cushioned.
• Bets for a June Fed rate cut weigh o the USD and lend some support to the pair.
• Traders now look to Fed Chair Powell’s testimony ahead of the ECB on Thursday.

The EUR/USD pair extends its consolidative price move for the second straight day on Wednesday and remains confined in a narrow band around mid-1.0800s through the Asian session.

Spot prices did get a minor lift on Tuesday amid a modest US Dollar (USD) weakness led by the disappointing release of the US ISM Services PMI, though the momentum faltered near the 1.0875 region, or over a one-week high. Traders seem reluctant to place aggressive USD bearish bets and prefer to wait for more clarity about the Federal Reserve's (Fed) rate-cut path. Hence, Fed Chair Jerome Powell's congressional testimony will play a key role in influencing the USD price dynamics and provide a fresh impetus to the EUR/USD pair.

Apart from this, traders on Wednesday will take cues from the US macro data – the ADP report on private-sector employment and JOLTS Job Openings data. The focus will then shift to the European Central Bank (ECB) meeting on Thursday and the key US monthly employment details, popularly known as the Nonfarm Payrolls (NFP) report on Friday. In the meantime, reduced bets for more aggressive policy easing by the ECB might continue to underpin the shared currency and help limit any corrective decline for the EUR/USD pair.

From a technical perspective, the recent repeated failures ahead of the 1.0900 mark warrant caution for bullish traders. Hence, it will be prudent to wait for some follow-through buying beyond the said handle before traders start positioning for an extension of the EUR/USD pair's goodish recovery move from sub-1.0700 levels, or the YTD low touched on February 14. Nevertheless, the fundamental backdrop suggests that the path of least resistance for spot prices is to the upside and supports prospects for the emergence of some dip-buying.