EUR/USD preserves daily gains near mid-1.17s as DXY remains in red

The EUR/USD pair, which was able to close the day a little above the 1.17 handle on Thursday, recorded modest gains on Friday and was last seen moving sideways near mid-1.17s, gaining 0.2% on the day.

Earlier in the day, the data showed that the Eurozone current account surplus for June eased to $21.2 billion and missed the market estimate of €27.3 billion. Although the University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment Index improved to 97.6 in August from 93.4, touching its highest level since January, the US Dollar Index stayed quiet in its tight range around mid-93s As of writing, the index was at 93.47, losing 0.2% on the day. 

Despite today's recovery, the pair is still looking to close the week lower. The ECB meeting minutes, released yesterday, revealed that the policymakers were concerned about the increasing value of the shared currency. However, the pair could continue to find support in coming days as the political turmoil in the U.S., which escalate concerns over the Trump administration's ability to push through the long-awaited policy changes like the tax reform and the infrastructure overhaul, keeps investors away from the greenback.

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Nevertheless, the economic calendar on Monday won't be featuring any data that could potentially impact the price action and the pair is likely to stay calm in its recent range in the near-term.

Technical outlook

With this week's retreat, the RSI indicator on the weekly graph finally corrected its overbought readings. The same indicator on the daily graph is moving sideways near the 50 handle, suggesting a near-term neutral outlook. The initial hurdle for the pair aligns at 1.1780 (20-DMA) ahead of 1.1845 (Aug. 11 high) and 1.1905 (Aug. 2 high). On the downside, supports could be seen at 1.1660 (Aug. 18 low), 1.1610 (Jul. 26 low) and 1.1500 (psychological level). 

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