The Euro is little moved against the Pound and other major peers as investors widely ignored the release of a plethora of data reports for the region and instead are focusing on tonight’s US Federal Reserve interest rate decision and to see whether the Central Bank will hint as to when it will taper its monetary easing programme.
The data was mixed after a report showed that unemployment rose and growth slowed in Germany, meanwhile Spain officially exited its two-year long recession. Elsewhere reports from Greece showed that consumer confidence firmed and confidence weakened in Portugal.
According to the Nuremberg based Federal Labour Agency, the number of people out of work in Europe’s largest economy climbed to a seasonally adjusted 2,000, taking the overall number of German citizens out of work to 2.97 million. The adjusted jobless rate was unchanged at 6.9%.
Spain received some good news after it was confirmed that the struggling nation has finally dragged itself out of recession. It posted its first quarterly economic growth since 2011.
According to the country’s National Statistics agency, GDP edged higher by 0.1% in the July-to-September quarter. A sustained recovery however is not expected as growth is extremely weak and as the 0.1% expansion is being hailed as the result of a strong summer tourist period. Unemployment remains at the staggeringly high level of 26%.
Ben May, economist at Capital Economics, said the growth was encouraging and cited business surveys that suggested there “may be more to come in the near term”.
Mr May said: “However, domestic demand is still contracting and against that backdrop, it’s hard to see a strong and sustained recovery.”
Greece continues to show little sign of improvement but consumer confidence edged slightly higher as it climbed from -72.2 to -66.2. Confidence in Portugal however fell from -45.3 to -46.
Economic confidence in the wider Eurozone meanwhile rose more than forecast in October, adding to signs that the region’s economic recovery is gaining momentum. The European Commission said that executive and consumer sentiment increased for a sixth consecutive month, rising from 96.9 in September to 97.8 in October.
The Euro is likely to make moves tomorrow as the latest Eurozone Consumer Price Index and unemployment data is due for release, it will also be impacted by the outcome of this evening Federal Reserve policy statement.
Euro (EUR) Exchange Rates
As of 11:00 am GMT
The Euro/US Dollar Exchange Rate is currently in the region of: 1.3756
The Euro/Pound Sterling Exchange Rate is currently in the region of: 0.8566
The Euro/Australian Dollar Exchange Rate is currently in the region of: 1.4463
The Euro/ New Zealand Dollar Exchange Rate is currently in the region of: 1.6611
The Euro/ Canadian Dollar Exchange Rate is currently in the region of: 1.4380
The Euro/ Japanese Yen Rate Exchange Rate is currently in the region of: 135.1496
The Euro/Swiss Franc Exchange Rate is currently in the region of: 1.2357
The Pound Sterling/ Euro Exchange Rate is currently in the region of: 1.1674
The US Dollar/Euro Exchange Rate is currently in the region of: 0.7269
The Australian Dollar/Euro Exchange Rate is currently in the region of: 0.6914
The New Zealand Dollar/Euro Exchange Rate is currently in the region of: 0.5996
The Canadian Dollar/Euro Exchange Rate is currently in the region of: 0.6020
Swiss Franc/Euro Exchange Rate is currently in the region of: 0.8092