The Euro (EUR) edged away from its lowest level in 14-months against the US Dollar (USD) on Friday after the latest Nonfarm Payrolls Data out of the worlds largest economy widely disappointed economists and reduced the chances of the Federal Reserve raising interest rates.
According to the data released by the Washington Department of Labour, the US economy created fewer jobs than expected in August. The number of jobs created came in at 142,000, disappointing expectations for a rise to 225,000. The data also showed that the overall US unemployment rate fell from 6.2% to 6.1% as the nations participation rate declined.
‘The underlying message appears to be that the US labour market recovery, which until this month appeared to have been firing on all cylinders has hit a snag,’ said Millan Mulraine, deputy chief economist at TD Securities.
The Euro ticked higher against a number of peers following the data release. The currency is forecast to remain under significant pressure however after the European Central Bank unexpectedly cut interest rates to a new record low of 0.05%; the bank also introduced a new monetary easing programme in an effort to try to stimulate growth and tackle the threat of deflation.
Also supporting the Euro was the news that Ukraine and pro-Russian rebels have signed a ceasefire deal in a bid to end five months of heavy fighting which has cost the lives of more than 2,600 people.
At a meeting in Belarus the two sides agreed to stop fighting at 15:00 pm GMT, so far the ceasefire seems to be holding.
The Euro to US Dollar exchange rate is currently trending around 1.2961 .
Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko said that the ceasefire was based on a 12-point plan. A hostage exchange is due to take place on Saturday.
‘It is very important that this ceasefire lasts long, and during this ceasefire we continue the political dialogue to bring peace and stability,’ Poroshenko said.
An end to the conflict would be a positive for the Eurozone as the currency bloc has suffered from reduced confidence and trade due to the standoff with Russia.
Data released early in Friday’s session lent some support to the embattled single currency as it showed that industrial production in Germany increased by 1.9% in July, beating economist expectations for a rise to 0.3% and added to the 0.4% rise recorded in the preceding month.
Following that came a report that showed that the Eurozone economy stagnated in the second quarter of the year. There was some positives however as the data showed that consumer spending and exports increased. Investment however fell by 0.3%.
Euro Exchange Rate News:
[table width=”100%” colwidth=”50|50|50|50|50″ colalign=”left|left|left|left|left”]
Currency, ,Currency,Rate ,
Euro,
Euro,
Euro,
Euro,
[/table]
