• EUR/USD failed to make any progress toward 1.0600, but is still holding steady.
• Holiday-thinned US markets kneecapped market volumes on Thursday.
• Shortened US hours will also trim volumes on Friday, but EU HICP inflation could spark a move.

EUR/USD churned chart paper just south of the 1.0600 handle on Thursday, failing to extend Fiber’s recent bullish recovery but not losing any ground either. Market volumes were constrained on Thursday with US markets dark for the Thanksgiving holiday, and Friday will likewise see crimped liquidity during the US session to wrap up the trading week.

A fresh batch of pan-EU inflation figures are due on Friday, which could see the Euro take a leg higher rounding the corner into the weekend, however Fiber traders have had little reason to bid EUR/USD as of late. The key figures for Fiber will be pan-EU Harmonized Index of Consumer Prices (HICP) inflation. Core HICP inflation is forecast to tick upwards to 2.8% YoY in November from the previous 2.7%, which will throw a wrench in the works for several European Central Bank (ECB) officials who have hit newswires this week trying to soothe investors with promises of further rate cuts in December and heading into 2025.

On the Greenback side, next Friday’s US Nonfarm Payrolls (NFP) jobs report, scheduled for December 6, will be the big figure to watch. Next week’s NFP will take on renewed importance for traders now that watching for signs of rate cuts from the Federal Reserve (Fed) has taken a backseat as of late. However, a large move in either direction in NFP figures could jolt Treasury rates, sparking fresh fears of either too many or too few rate cuts heading into 2025.