Euro is lower today, in spite of recent indications of stability, on the latest of retail sales data. Even though there are hopes that the economic contraction is over for the eurozone, there are still concerns about a slow recovery.
The latest retail sales data is sending the euro down against its major counter parts today. Eurostat is reporting that June retail sales were down 0.5 per cent from May. The news isn’t all bad, though. Markit reports that PMI is up to 50.5 in July from 48.7 in June. Better employment data was also recently released for the eurozone.
Even with the disappointing retail sales data, there are signs that, in general, the contraction of the eurozone economy is coming to an end. However, the weakness of the economic recover is working against the 17-nation currency right now.
When compared to the sluggish recovery in the United States, the eurozone is still lacking. And that means that the euro will continue to struggle against the greenback, and against some of its other major counterparts — at least for a little while.
At 15:39 GMT EUR/USD is down to 1.3251 from the open at 1.3285. EUR/GBP is also lower, dropping to 0.8635 from the open at 0.8687. EUR/JPY is down to 130.6040 from the open at 131.4260.
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