The Euro has made a strong advance against the US Dollar today, posting a rate of 1.1553, the best exchange rate since September 2015.
This advance comes after confidence in Donald Trump’s administration has taken yet another knock due to a failed reform attempt.
- EUR USD rate rises to 1.1553 – USD EUR trades down at 0.8647
- Euro rallies despite falling confidence – Overall economic sentiment remains high
- US Dollar crashes on Republican dissent – Lawmakers refuse to back key Trump policy
- Euro decline possible on construction stats – US oil stock stats may provide mid-week boost
For the most part, Eurozone news has been negative today, leaving falling US confidence as the greater source of Euro support.
Euro Soars despite Weakening German Economic Confidence
The Euro’s 0.7% rise against the US Dollar today comes after some mixed Eurozone confidence figures.
Matching with forecasts, the ZEW German economic confidence index has fallen from 18.6 points to 17.5. For the overall Eurozone, a similar dip from 37.7 points to 35.6 has been recorded.
Both of these results have been worse than forecast, but economic confidence is still historically high. Putting the results into context, ZEW President Achim Wambach has stated;
‘Our overall assessment of the economic development in Germany remains unchanged compared to the previous month. The outlook for the German economic growth in the coming six months continues to be positive. This is now also reflected in the survey results for the Eurozone’.
US Dollar Slumps as Obamacare Repeal Stalls
Amid the news that only 36% of US citizens approve of Donald Trump, the US Dollar has tumbled against the Euro by -0.7%. The drop to 0.8647 follows the news that the repeal process for ‘Obamacare’ has ground to a halt.
As well as Democrats remaining staunchly opposed to the repeal plan, Republicans have also been rejecting the keystone policy. While some believe it would cause millions to lose their healthcare support, others think that Trump’s proposals don’t go far enough.
In either case, there are currently not enough viable votes to even have the repeal bill discussed, which represents an embarrassing defeat for the President.
Taking to Twitter for a typically aggressive post, Trump has declared that;
‘Republicans should just REPEAL [sic] failing ObamaCare now & work on a new Healthcare Plan that will start from a clean slate. Dems will join in!’
Euro Decline Possible if Eurozone Construction Slows
Looking ahead to Wednesday, the next major Eurozone news will cover construction output in May. Forecasts are for a drop from 3.2% to 2.9%, which could mean that the Euro slips in value.
The next US news to watch out for will come on Wednesday. The focus will be on crude oil stocks, which are predicted to show a slight reduction in mid-June. If stocks do fall then the price of crude oil could rise, which would benefit US oil exporters and potentially the US Dollar as well.
Current Interbank EUR USD Exchange Rates
At the time of writing, the Euro to US Dollar (EUR USD) exchange rate was trading at 1.1553 and the US Dollar to Euro (USD EUR) exchange rate was trading at 0.8647.
