Forecast: How will Philly manufacturing index impact EUR/USD?

NEW YORK (Forex News Now) – The Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia is due on Thursday to publish key data on the manufacturing sector in Philadelphia in August, in one of the day’s major FX news events.

The report is expected to show that the closely watched index rose to 7.1 during the month, according to two major financial news outlets, up from 5.1 in July.

The bank is scheduled to release the data at 2:00 P.M., GMT; as such, the report is likely to dominate European afternoon currency trading.

According to forex analysis, if the report shows greater-than-expected manufacturing activity, EUR/USD could be pushed down toward support around Monday’s low, 1.2734.

But should the data show slighter-than-expected activity, or even a decline, the data could lift the currency pair toward resistance around the high of July 26, 1.3006.

Of course, upbeat data could also boost FX trades’ risk appetite, which would be likely to benefit the euro.