The Euro to Australian Dollar (EUR/AUD) exchange rate climbed by around 0.28% on Thursday morning.
Although European economic data produced a mixed-bag of results, the single currency strengthened versus the majority of its most traded currency competitors. The advance can be attributed to continued positive sentiment after Greece managed to make an International Monetary Fund (IMF) payment.
The ‘Aussie’ (AUD), meanwhile, edged lower after registering significant gains versus the majority of its most traded currency rivals. Thursday’s Australian labour market data printed disappointingly which weighed on demand for the Oceanic currency.
The Euro to Australian Dollar (EUR/AUD) exchange rate is currently trending in the region of 1.4299.
Euro (EUR) Exchange Rate Edges Higher despite Mixed Data
European economic data saw varied results on Thursday, but the common currency continued to strengthen versus most of its major peers. This is likely to be the result of improved sentiment after Greece managed to make an IMF repayment despite most analysts expecting Athens to default.
German Factory Orders met with the median market forecast of 1.9% annual growth. The German Construction PMI, however, dropped from 53.3 to 51.0. Eurozone Retail PMIclimbed from 48.6 to 49.5, but German Retail PMI dropped from 53 to 52.6.
Commenting on the Markit Germany Retail PMI survey data, Markit economist Oliver Kolodseike said; ‘German retailers signalled a further rise in sales in April amid reports of good weather and promotional activity. However, sales targets were missed again and gross operating margins declined at a sharper rate. Part of the fall in margins was attributed to increased input costs, with wholesale price inflation accelerating to the strongest in over a year.’
The Euro to Australian Dollar (EUR/AUD) exchange rate has fallen to a low of 1.4172 today.
Australian Dollar (AUD) Exchange Rate Softens on Rising Unemployment
After the Reserve Bank of Australia cut the cash rate to a record-low 2.0%, the South Pacific currency strengthened amid speculation the easing bias had ended. The ‘Aussie’ continued to advance on Wednesday despite registering relatively poor data results.
Thursday has seen the ‘Aussie’ soften, however, after influential labour market data failed to impress. April’s Unemployment Rate climbed in line with predictions from 6.1% to 6.2%. Employment Change saw -2,900 newly unemployed, failing to meet with the median market forecast of 4,000 newly employed.
‘It was largely as expected,’ RBC Capital Markets economist Michael Turner said. ‘Unemployment’s still gyrating around 6.1% to 6.3%. Unemployment growth is still reasonably modest and barely enough to keep up with the population growth.’
Euro to Australian Dollar (EUR/AUD) Exchange Rate Forecast to Hold Gains
Given the lack of domestic data to curb the trend, the Euro to Australian Dollar (EUR/AUD) exchange rate is likely to hold gains for the remainder of Thursday’s European session. Friday ought to see heightened EUR/AUD volatility with the RBA making a statement about monetary policy and with German Industrial Production and Trade Balance data due for publication.
The Euro to Australian Dollar (EUR/AUD) exchange rate climbed to a high of 1.4307 today.
