The Euro to USD firmed above 1.38 on Wednesday as investors grew increasingly nervous ahead of this evening’s publication of the Federal Reserve’s policy meeting minutes for March.
The US Dollar remains under pressure against most of its major peers after last week’s eagerly anticipated nonfarm payrolls report came in below forecasts. Investors are now looking ahead to the publication of the Fed minutes for March to gauge some sense of direction for its monetary policy.
Speculation has grown in recent days that due to a recent run of disappointing economic data release out of the US the Federal Reserve could slow down the rate at which it is tapering its monetary easing programme. Signs of a slowdown will drag the ‘Greenback’ lower and bolster emerging markets.
The US Dollar came under further pressure from a report released today that showed that the average number of mortgage applications in the USA dropped by 1.6% last week. The number of applications has fallen in seven of the past eight weeks suggesting that the US housing market is still struggling to recover.
The Euro meanwhile found support from Greece’s soon return to the bond markets and the release of data out of Germany which showed that demand for imports rose suggesting that domestic demand in the Eurozone’s largest economy is improving.
Portugal too offered some support as balance of trade data for the struggling nation showed signs of improvement. The nation’s trade deficit narrowed to -€795 million in February, down from the previous months revised figure of -€956 million.
The Euro is likely to see volatility tomorrow due to a number of inflation reports being due for release and as attention once again turns to the USA and its jobs data.
Current Euro Exchange Rates
[table width=”100%” colwidth=”50|50|50|50|50″ colalign=”left|left|left|left|left”]
Currency, ,Currency,Rate ,
Euro,
,US Dollar,1.3800 ,
Euro,,British Pound,0.8236 ,
Euro,,Australian Dollar,1.4730 ,
Euro,,Canadian Dollar,1.5078 ,
[/table]
