US December PCE Inflation Preview: Is there room for further US Dollar weakness?

The US Bureau of Economic Analysis reported on Thursday that the US economy grew at an annual rate of 2.9% in the fourth quarter. Although this reading came in weaker than the 3.2% expansion recorded in the previous quarter, it surpassed the market expectation of 2.6%. Other data from the US revealed that the weekly Initial Jobless Claims declined to 186K from 192K and Durable Goods Orders increased by 5.6% in December, compared to analysts' estimate of 2.5%. These upbeat numbers, however, had little to no impact on the market pricing of the Fed's rate outlook. According to the CME Group FedWatch Tool, there is still a nearly 70% chance that the Fed will stay on hold after hiking the policy rate by 25 basis points in February and March.

EUR/USD snapped a fix-day winning streak on Thursday and edged slightly lower early Friday. The pair was last seen trading at around 1.0870. European Central Bank (ECB) President Christine Lagarde is scheduled to deliver a speech at 1030 GMT but she is unlikely to comment on the policy since the 'quiet period' has already started.