EUR/USD remains depressed near 1.1500 as risk aversion persists

EUR/USD drops for the fourth consecutive day on Friday and nears 1.1500.
Waning hopes of a swift end to the Iran war keep weighing on the Euro.
Price action has broken the bottom of the upward channel, pointing to further downtrend.

The Euro (EUR) is trading lower against the US Dollar (USD) for the fourth consecutive day on Friday, changing hands at 1.1520 at the time of writing, down from weekly highs of 1.1640 on Monday. The pressure of higher Oil prices in the Eurozone economy, coupled with waning hopes of a swift end to the Iran war, is acting as a headwind for any significant Euro recovery.

US President Donald Trump provided some hope on Thursday, extending the deadlines to attack Iran’s energy sites into April. Market enthusiasm, however, was short-lived, as the Wall Street Journal reported that the Pentagon would be considering the deployment of 10,000 additional troops for a ground offensive that would extend the war and keep the Strait of Hormuz closed for an extended period.

In Europe, preliminary Consumer Prices Index data from Spain showed that price pressures accelerated to 3.3% year-on-Year in March, to their highest level in nearly 2 years , from 2.3% in February, providing further reasons for the European Central Bank (ECB) to hike interest rates in April.