The Euro to US Dollar (EUR/USD) and Euro to Pound Sterling (EUR/GBP) exchange rates have both fallen slightly today, although all three currencies are experiencing limited movement today.
EUR/USD, EUR/GBP Exchange Rate News: Last Greek Data of 2015 Beats Forecasts but Remains Negative
The Euro (EUR) has fallen by -0.3% against both the US Dollar (EUR/USD) and the Pound Sterling (EUR/GBP) today, with greater losses of -0.5% against the Indian Rupee (EUR/INR) and -0.6% against the Australian Dollar (EUR/AUD) also being recorded. This represents a small deterioration in the Euro’s value compared to yesterday.
The only Eurozone data released today has been Greece’s annual October Retail Sales, which were forecast to worsen from -3.3% to -3.36% but instead ‘improved’ to -2.5%. In spite of this slightly more positive than expected result, no direct impact was had on the Euro, which seems set to end the year on a low note.
US Dollar (USD) and Pound Sterling (GBP) Displaying Exchange Rates Fluctuating on New Year’s Eve
The US Dollar (USD) has generally been faring well this week, although investor doubts over the future path for the Federal Open Market Committee’s (FOMC) Interest Rate decisions have remained a point of contention. The most recent US release to speak of has been Wednesday’s declining annual November Pending Home Sales, which fell from 3.9% to 2.7%.
The US Dollar has risen by 0.3% against the Euro (USD/EUR) today but fallen by a small amount against the Pound Sterling (USD/GBP) and made a greater loss of -0.3% against the Indian Rupee (USD/INR).
The Pound Sterling (GBP) has been making little noticeable movement against a majority of its competitors today, mainly due to the now-routine lack of data that is present at this time of the year.
The Pound Sterling has advanced against the Euro (GBP/EUR) by 0.4% today and has elsewhere recorded a small gain against the US Dollar (GBP/USD) and climbed to 1% against the Russian Ruble (GBP/RUB).
EUR, USD, GBP Exchange Rate Forecast: US Claims Data Due Today, Next Publications in New Year
The last day of 2015 will bring little in terms of direct data for the trinity, although the US Dollar (USD) may be moved in the near future by the Continuing and Initial Jobless Claims figures for December. At the time of writing, forecasts were for a rise in the number of initial claims, from 267k to 273k.
Looking further ahead, New Year’s Day will bring another US Dollar-affecting result – China’s Manufacturing PMI for December. With the performance of the Chinese economy still a limiting factor on when the Fed next raises the US interest rate (and by how much), investors in the ‘Buck’ will likely be keeping a close eye on the result of this announcement.
For the Euro (EUR), January 4th will see the first direct economic publications from the Eurozone – these include Spain’s pessimistically forecast December Consumer Confidence and the overall final Eurozone Manufacturing PMI for December, which is forecast to rise from 52.8 to 53.1.
For the UK, the 4th of January will also bring the Markit/CIPS Manufacturing PMI for December, along with the November Mortgage Approvals result. At the time of writing, forecasts were optimistic in both fields.
Current EUR, USD, GBP Exchange Rates
The Euro to US Dollar (EUR/USD) exchange rate was trending in the region of 1.0903, the US Dollar to Euro (USD/EUR) exchange rate was trending in the region of 0.9175, the Euro to Pound Sterling (EUR/GBP) exchange rate was trending in the region of 0.7350, the Pound Sterling to Euro (GBP/EUR) exchange rate was trending in the region of 1.3606, the US Dollar to Pound Sterling (USD/GBP) exchange rate was trending in the region of 0.6741 and the Pound Sterling to US Dollar (GBP/USD) exchange rate was trending in the region of 1.4828 today.