The Euro was little moved against the Pound and other peers as investors chose to widely ignore the release of positive data from Ireland and Portugal, instead they were waiting for the release of the ECB’s interest rate and monetary policy statements.
Ireland saw industrial production soar by 11.7% year on year in September, smashing economist forecasts for a rise of 3% and beat the previous figure of -5.7%. Other data out of Ireland showed that inflation came in lower than expected year on year adding to concerns over the Eurozone’s overall inflation rate.
In Portugal, unemployment fell in the third quarter of 2013. According to statistics Portugal the total jobless rate decreased to 15.60% compared to the previous figure of 16.40% recorded in the second quarter of the year.
Data out of Germany did little to ease concerns that the Eurozone is suffering a slowdown. Month by month industrial output in the region’s largest economy fell in September to -0.9% from the previous month’s figure of 1.4%. Despite that the Euro remains little moved.
The European Central Bank’s policy makers are expected to not cut interest rates following a recent run of positive data releases.
“We had some speculation about a rate cut but this is fading more and more. They don’t have to cut rates. They could do some other liquidity-providing measures. If the ECB really change anything today it should be Euro positive,” said a senior currency strategist at Commerzbank AG.
The Bank of England is also due to announce its interest rate decision and provide some direction for what it plans for its asset purchasing programme. The BOE unveils its decision prior to the ECB.
Euro (EUR) Exchange Rates
As of 11:40 am GMT
The Euro/US Dollar Exchange Rate is currently in the region of: 1.3519
The Euro/Pound Sterling Exchange Rate is currently in the region of: 0.8408
The Euro/Australian Dollar Exchange Rate is currently in the region of: 1.4246
The Euro/ New Zealand Dollar Exchange Rate is currently in the region of: 1.6137
The Euro/ Canadian Dollar Exchange Rate is currently in the region of: 1.4079
The Euro/ Japanese Yen Rate Exchange Rate is currently in the region of: 133.4057
The Euro/Swiss Franc Exchange Rate is currently in the region of: 1.2334
The Pound Sterling/ Euro Exchange Rate is currently in the region of: 1.1893
The US Dollar/Euro Exchange Rate is currently in the region of: 0.7397
The Australian Dollar/Euro Exchange Rate is currently in the region of: 0.7019
The New Zealand Dollar/Euro Exchange Rate is currently in the region of: 0.6196
The Canadian Dollar/Euro Exchange Rate is currently in the region of: 0.7102
Swiss Franc/Euro Exchange Rate is currently in the region of: 0.8107
