Prior to European Retail Data, EUR / USD Steadily Climbs above 1.0600, with the Fed in the Spotlight. Powell, US NFP Director

As sour mood and conflicting worries about the Federal Reserve's (Fed) and European Central Bank's (ECB) next move combine, EUR / USD declines to 1.0630, recording slight losses after a noteworthy weekly positive ending. In light of the crucial week's slow start, it's important to note that a light schedule in Asia also puts the pair traders to the test.

However, the robust inflation figures for the Eurozone back hawkish ECB comments. The US data, however, falls short of its European equivalent and casts doubt on the aggressive Federal Reserve (Fed) worries.

Botjan Vasle, a member of the Governing Council of the European Central Bank (ECB), stated on Friday, "My personal opinion is that the increase we plan for our March meeting—that is, 0.5 percentage points—will not be the last one." In a similar vein, ECB Governing Council member Madis Muller stated on Friday that "it is probably not the ultimate increase in March." However, ECB Vice President Luis de Guindos stated, "Data-dependent interest rate course after March."

On the other hand, Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta President Raphael Bostic renewed worries about the Fed’s policy pivot as the decision-maker said, “The central bank could be in a position to halt the present tightening cycle by mid to late summer.”

On the other hand, according to Reuters, San Francisco Federal Reserve Bank President Mary Daly stated over the weekend that interest rates will need to increase and remain there longer than Fed policymakers anticipated in December if data on inflation and the labor market continue to come in hotter than expected.

Additionally, the US Federal Reserve stated unequivocally in its semi-annual Monetary Policy Report that "continuous increases in the Fed funds rate goal are essential." According to the article, the Fed is steadfastly dedicated to bringing inflation back to 2%.

Speaking of the data, robust February readings for the Producer Price Index and the Harmonized Index of Consumer Prices (HICP) for the Eurozone validated the ECB officials' hawkish stance, allowing the EUR / USD to maintain its firmer position. Despite the first US Treasury bond rates, the US data underwhelms the US Dollar, which in turn hurts the US dollar/Euro combination. Despite this, the February US ISM Services PMI was 55.1, compared to 54.5 market estimates and 55.2 market predictions. Prior to that week, the Conference Board's (CB) Consumer Sentiment survey and the US Durable Goods Purchases for January both showed easing trends.

Apart from the EU-US catalysts, news from China’s annual session of the National People's Congress (NPC) look significant and lately impact on the risk profile, as well as the EUR/USD price. As per the newest report, the dragon nation views a modest rise of 5.0%, versus market expectations of 6.0%, for the current year. Furthermore, worries from China and Russia also probe the mood and impact on the EUR/USD prices.

Above all, the EUR / USD pair's ability to move quickly is constrained by the cautious atmosphere that has developed advance of Federal Reserve (Fed) Chairman Jerome Powell's semi-annual testimony, the US job report for February, as well as today's Eurozone Retail Sales for February. The quote may recover the most recent losses if the bloc's data come in at 1.9% YoY, as opposed to the optimistic forecasts of -2.8%.