On Monday the Euro struggled to make any gains against its peers after investors remained worried over the deteriorating political situation in a number of the Eurozone’s member states. Greece experienced a week of general strikes as protestor’s took to the streets to campaign against austerity measures. In Spain there are calls for the Prime Minister to resign immediately due to his alleged involvement in a corruption scandal and in Portugal the government remains divided, putting the country’s bailout exit in jeopardy.
On Tuesday the Euro strengthened against the US Dollar and Pound despite having a day of mixed data releases. CPI data out of the Eurozone came in at the level economists had anticipated causing the Euro to rise against Sterling which was weakened by its worse-than-expected CPI data and the US Dollar is trading softer.
The Euro was trading close to a four-month high at the start of Wednesday’s session but it wasn’t long before it shed those gains. The Bank of England’s latest policy meeting turned the Pound bullish against the single currency. In the afternoon the Euro fell against the US Dollar after Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke took a neutral stance in his testimony to congress.
At the end of the week the Euro was up in early trading after the Greek government allayed investor fears by approving the next round of austerity measures required for its next bout of bailout cash. The single currency then softened throughout the day as data from the Netherlands highlighted how the Euro crisis has impacted the Eurozone’s core nations. Unemployment in the country rose to 8.5% in June and consumer confidence fell more than expected.
Major events next week for the Euro
Tuesday 23rd July – Euro-zone Consumer Confidence
Wednesday 24th July – German PMI data
Euro-zone PMI
Thursday 25th July – German IFO Business Climate
German IFO Expectations
Euro Exchange Rates
(as of 14:35 pm GMT)
The Euro is trading against the Pound in the region of 0.8596
The Euro is trading against the US Dollar in the region of 1.3113
The Euro is trading against the Australian Dollar in the region of 1.4225
The Euro is trading against the New Zealand Dollar in the region of 1.6471
The Euro is trading against the Canadian Dollar in the region of 1.3606
The Pound is trading against the Euro in the region of 1.1632
The US Dollar is trading against the Euro in the region of 0.7631
The Australian Dollar is trading against the Euro in the region of 0.6999