The Euro has strengthened against the Pound and has risen beyond a seven-week high against the US Dollar following the release of data which showed that the Eurozone is on the verge of beginning a recovery.
According to the Berlin based Economy Ministry, German factory orders increased to their highest levels in eight months in June, led by demand for investment goods and added to signs that the Eurozone’s biggest economy is taking advantage of the Eurozone’s tentative recovery.
Orders adjusted for seasonal changes and inflation increased by 3.8% in June compared to May’s revised figure of a fall of 0.5%. Economists had been forecasting a gain of 1%. Domestic factory orders climbed 3.3% from May and overseas demand rose 4.2%, today’s report showed. Basic-goods and consumer-goods orders both dropped 0.2%.
The data also shows that Eurozone orders jumped by 10%, whilst orders from outside the region climbed by just 0.9% during the same period.
“The worst could be behind us, and even though credit and demand is weak a pick up seems to be taking shape in the Eurozone. The German manufacturing sector should be the first to profit from a recovery in the Euro area, and demand from there is still more important than that from Asia,” said Aline Schuiling from ABN Amro Bank NV.
Despite the recent signs of a possible recovery the Eurozone economy is expected to have stagnated in the three months ending in June, an improvement on the constant contraction. The European Union’s statistics office in Luxembourg releases the latest Eurozone GDP data on August the 14th.
Euro (EUR) Exchange Rates
As of 12:00 pm GMT
The Euro/US Dollar Exchange Rate is currently in the region of: 1.3277 >
The Euro/Pound Sterling Exchange Rate is currently in the region of: 0.8643 >
The Euro/Australian Dollar Exchange Rate is currently in the region of: 1.4785 >
The Euro/ New Zealand Dollar Exchange Rate is currently in the region of: 1.6849 <
The Euro/ Canadian Dollar Exchange Rate is currently in the region of: 1.3752 >