Yesterday’s better-than-expected services PMI and retail sales report for the Eurozone boosted the common currency against the majority of its most traded rivals and helped the Euro advance to an eight-month high against the US Dollar and surge by the most for two-weeks against the Pound.
Encouraging news from Portugal kept the Euro trading strongly overnight and the common currency begins the European session poised to post five-day gains against its major counterparts.
Following the completion of the eighth and ninth reviews of the Portuguese bailout, the ‘Troika’ of the International Monetary Fund, European Commission and European Central Bank stated that the nation is experiencing; ‘early signs of a recovery in economic activity.’
In a joint statement, the Troika asserted; ‘Provided the authorities persevere with steadfast programme implementation, Euro area member states have declared they stand ready to support Portugal until full market access is regained.’
The Euro/Pound Sterling pairing is currently trading in the region of 0.8444
The Portuguese government also upwardly revised its growth forecasts for the nation, predicting expansion of 0.8 per cent in 2014 rather than the 0.6 per cent initially estimated.
The contraction expected for this year was reduced from 2.3 per cent to 1.8 per cent, with the unemployment rate coming in at 17.4 per cent– slightly better than the 18.2 per cent previously projected.
In a press conference Vice Premier Paulo Portas referenced Portugal’s three remaining reviews, while the Portuguese Finance Minister asserted that public debt is sustainable.
Although data published this morning showed an unexpected decline of German producer prices in August, the Euro was little affected.
While today’s Eurozone producer price index will be of interest, US news is more likely to impact the Euro before the weekend.
Euro (EUR) Exchange Rates
As of 09:15
The Euro/US Dollar Exchange Rate is currently in the region of: 1.3626 >
The Euro/Pound Sterling Exchange Rate is currently in the region of: 0.8444 >
The Euro/Australian Dollar Exchange Rate is currently in the region of: 1.4447 <
The Euro/ New Zealand Dollar Exchange Rate is currently in the region of: 1.6398 <
The Euro/ Canadian Dollar Exchange Rate is currently in the region of: 1.4080 >
