EUR/USD languishes near four-week lows ahead of US manufacturing data

EUR/USD hits four-week lows below 1.1700 amid the US Dollar’s strength.
FX markets are looking beyond the geopolitical tensions after the US intervention in Venezuela
Investors await a slew of US macroeconomic data for further insight into the Fed easing calendar.

EUR/USD has opened the week on the same soft tone that closed the previous one. The pair trades at four-week lows of 1.1690 at the time of writing, with traders trying to look ahead to the US intervention in Venezuela into a slew of key US macroeconomic releases due later in the week.

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro is expected to appear in a US court later on Monday, after being captured by US forces over the weekend, and US President Donald Trump has warned about the possibility of further attacks on the country if the authorities do not cooperate with US plans to open up the country’s Oil industry and stop drug trafficking.

Market sentiment, however, has hardly been affected by the weekend’s events. The main Asian indices have been trading higher, and European markets are pointing to a mildly positive opening.

In FX markets, the trend of a stronger US Dollar (USD) observed late last week has extended into this one. Upbeat US home sales and Jobless Claims data last week strengthened the US Federal Reserve’s (Fed) stance of a very gradual easing cycle,

Investors await the US ISM Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) due later on Monday to confirm those views, although the highlight of the week will be December’s Nonfarm Payrolls report, due on Friday.