The Euro has edged higher against the Pound and US Dollar following the release of data which widely met economist expectations.
Earlier in the session the single currency was trading softer against its peers and was holding close to a two-week low against the US Dollar. Data out of Germany gave investors reason to be wary over the region’s largest economy after retail sales made an unexpected second monthly decline.
According to the Federal Statistics agency based in Wiesbaden, retail sales fell by 1.4% in July, down from the 0.8% fall measured in June. Economists had been calling for a 0.6% increase. On a year by year basis however sales are up by 2.3%.
“Higher food prices tend to lead to a bit of downward pressure on consumption. Everything else looks positive. If you look at any business survey, there’s acceleration, not deceleration of growth in Germany” said Christian Schulz, senior economist at Berenberg Bank.
The Eurozone received support from data released elsewhere. The unemployment rate in Italy fell from 12.1% to 12% suggesting that the nation’s economy is slowly beginning to show signs of improvement.
Economic, industrial and services confidence data all showed improvement whilst the regions business climate indicator improved from the previous month. The Eurozone’s unemployment rate stayed steady at 12.1% and consumer confidence stayed at the -15.6 measured in July. Eurostat estimates that 26.654 million men and women were unemployed in the EU, 19.231 million in the Eurozone. This was a decrease of 33,000 on June in the EU and 15,000 in the euro area. Compared with July 2012, unemployment rose by 995,000 in the EU and by 1.008m in the Euro area.
Euro (EUR) Exchange Rates
As of 10:25 am
The Euro/US Dollar Exchange Rate is currently in the region of: 1.3240 <
The Euro/Pound Sterling Exchange Rate is currently in the region of: 0.8547 <
The Euro/Australian Dollar Exchange Rate is currently in the region of: 1.4829
The Euro/ Canadian Dollar Exchange Rate is currently in the region of: 1.3937 >
