EUR/USD struggling near 1.1700 handle, FOMC minutes in focus

Having posted a session high near 1.1760 region, the EUR/USD pair ran through some fresh offers and drifted into negative territory for the third consecutive session. 

The pair tumbled around 70-pips from session tops on the ECB headlines that Mario Draghi will not discuss monetary policy course at the upcoming Jackson Hole Symposium. The headlines seemed to have disappointed market participants expecting hints towards a possible tapering at the ECB's next policy meeting in September and attracted some fresh selling pressure around the shared currency.

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Adding to this, a follow through pick-up in the US Dollar demand, backed by Tuesday's upbeat US monthly retail sales and reviving hopes for an additional Fed rate hike action in 2017, further collaborated to the pair's sharp drop back to the very important 1.1690 important horizontal support. 

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The shared currency, however, remained supported by today's better-than expected Euro-zone second quarter annualized growth figures, which helped the pair to defend the mentioned support, at least for the time being. 

Next on tap would be the US economic docket, featuring the release of housing starts and building permits. The key focus would remain on the very important FOMC meeting minutes, which would act as a key determinant of the pair's next leg of directional move.

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Technical levels to watch

On a sustained break below the 1.1700-1.1690 region, the pair is likely to accelerate the corrective slide towards 1.1640 level before eventually dropping to the 1.1600 handle. Alternatively, any rebound from current support area might continue to confront some fresh supply at 20-day SMA, near mid-1.1700s, above which the pair is likely to aim back towards the 1.1800 handle.