Despite the absence of important fundamental data in the first half of Wednesday, the European currency continued to strengthen its positions against the US dollar, as did the British pound.

The EURUSD pair climbed to a rather significant level of resistance, the breakthrough of which will lead to a likely growth in the region of the highs of the month and towards their renewal.

According to The Retail Economist and Goldman Sachs, retail sales fell for the week from December 17 to 23. According to the report, the sales index in retail chains of the USA declined by 0.4%, whereas compared to the reporting period of 2016, the index mentioned above grew by 3.3%.

However, the data from Redbook were much better, but they were ignored by traders who bet that the US dollar would strengthen. The seasonal factor of growth in retail sales was not particularly surprising, which led to the preservation of the downward trend of the US dollar.

According to the report of Redbook, for the first 4 weeks of December, retail sales in the US grew by 0.1% compared to the same period in November. Compared to the same period in 2016, retail sales grew by 4.1%.

As for the weekly growth, then, in general, during the pre-holiday days, sales are increasing. Therefore, sales for the week from December 17 to 23 increased by 5.7%.

As for the technical picture, the buyers of the European currency will have to make a lot of effort to be able to gain a foothold above 1.1900. Given the declining volume of trading before the new year, counting on a more powerful upward momentum in risky assets will not be entirely correct. The large resistance in the area of 1.1935-40, coinciding with the monthly high, will also be a serious obstacle for the euro.

In the first half of the day, data were published on the current state of profits in China's industry. Despite the positive values, growth in November of this year has slowed sharply. This happened as a result of lower prices for goods and accelerating the growth of companies' costs.

According to the official report, profits in China's industry in November 2017 compared to the same period of last year increased by 14.9%. In the first 11 months of this year, profits in the industry of China grew by 21.9%.