Euro US Dollar (EUR/USD) Exchange Rate Rises as German Retail Sales Better Than Forecast
Over the course of the morning the Euro US Dollar exchange rate has risen, and is currently trading at a rate of $1.1447.
Germany saw positive figures this morning with the release of its retail sales, which saw sales grow from -0.3% to 1.4% in November, compared to the previous month.
The figure was better than expected despite sales declining to 1.1%, from the previous 5%, which did little to stop the Euro US Dollar exchange rate from appreciating.
German factory orders were also shown to have declined in November, to -4.3% from -2.7%, although the retail sales figures from the Eurozone has likely weighed down USD/EUR, as it remained steady at 0.6% despite a forecast decrease.
EUR/USD Exchange Rate Falls on Back of Poor Eurozone Figures
The German unemployment rate for December was released on Friday, showing that it had remained steady, sitting at a rate of 5%, although disappointing PMI figures did little to help the Euro.
Germany’s Markit services PMI for December showed a greater-than-expected contraction to 51.8 from a previous 53.3.
The Eurozone’s Markit services PMI also showed a contraction from the previous 53.4 to 51.2, which saw the single currency fall slightly against the Dollar.
Both the producer price index and consumer price index for December were released for the Eurozone on Friday.
The Consumer Price Index showed a fall from 1.9% last year, to 1.6%, and the Producer Price Index reported a further-than-expected fall from 4.9% to 4%, which could have been a factor in causing the Euro to slip against the Dollar later in the day.
EUR/USD Exchange Rate Volatile as US Unemployment Rises to 3.9%
Friday saw a better-than-expected rise in the US non-farm payrolls, which increased from the previous 176K to 312K in December, seeing the USD make attempts to push back against the Euro.
Nevertheless, the release of the US unemployment rate for December saw a higher-than-forecast increase to 3.9% from the previous 3.7%, despite it being predicted the figure would remain steady.
The Markit services PMI for December was also released at the end of last week’s session, showing that growth in the US services sector was slowing, although not by as much as forecast, from 54.7 to 54.4.
Outlook: EUR/USD Exchange Rate Continue to Rise on Disappointing US Consumer Credit?
The release of the US ISM non-manufacturing PMI for December is likely to cause some movement within the pairing, as the forecast suggests that it is going to fall from 60.7 to 59.0. If this is correct, or the figure falls further, it seems likely that the Dollar will continue to fall against the Euro.
Tuesday will see the release of the Eurozone’s business climate figure, with the forecast suggesting confidence will decrease in December from 1.09 to 0.99, which could see the Euro fall against the Dollar.
The US consumer credit change for November is also due to be released tomorrow evening, with the forecast showing this figure falling from the previous $25.38B to $18.00B, although if there is a bullish reading as forecast, the EUR/USD exchange rate could rise.
