The Euro’s recent run of gains against the Pound was to prove short lived, and during the European session the common currency weakened to within touching distance of a seven month low against its British cousin.
While much of the EUR/GBP pairing’s losses were sustained as a result of the united front presented by the Bank of England in its most recent policy meeting minutes, news that Eurozone construction output growth slowed in July also had an impact. Month-on-month, output increased by 0.3 per cent, down from 0.9 per cent in June.
Year-on-year construction output in the 17-nation currency bloc was down 1.2 per cent.
Also of interest to the Eurozone is the fact that Greek public sector workers are staging demonstrations in Athens and Thessaloniki today in order to protest against the job cuts required as part of the nation’s bailout deal. With public services across Greece affected by this two-day strike, schools will close and hospitals will be running on reduced staff. The action comes a week before the Troika of international lenders returns to Athens to review Greece’s progress with the reforms laid out in its aid package.
The Euro/Pound Sterling pairing is currently trading in the region of 0.8366
Additionally, the Cypriot President announced that the government intends to remove all money-movement restrictions in January 2014. Earlier this year Cyprus became the first Eurozone member to take control of bank deposits in order to safeguard its financial system from collapse.
In an interview President Nicos Anastasiades commented; ‘The goal right now is to create the conditions for growth and tackle the serious problem of unemployment, to stabilise the financial system. The controls are being lifted. They will end within a timeframe of January 2014.’
As it stands the Euro is trading close to a seven-month low against the Pound, but in the region of a three-week high against the US Dollar.
With the Federal Reserve’s easing announcement imminent and UK retail sales data scheduled for publication tomorrow, significant movement in both the EUR/GBP and EUR/USD pairings can be expected as the week progresses.
Euro (EUR) Exchange Rates
As of 11:20
The Euro/US Dollar Exchange Rate is currently in the region of: 1.3356 <
The Euro/Pound Sterling Exchange Rate is currently in the region of: 0.8366 <
The Euro/Australian Dollar Exchange Rate is currently in the region of: 1.4270 <
The Euro/ New Zealand Dollar Exchange Rate is currently in the region of: 1.6229 >
The Euro/ Canadian Dollar Exchange Rate is currently in the region of: 1.3753 >