The euro today fell from yesterday’s highs, which were triggered by the dovish FOMC policy statement and comments, following the release of mixed eurozone data. The EUR/USD currency pair recovered slightly after the release of higher-than-expected US jobless claims data, which painted a different picture of the country’s labor market.
The EUR/USD currency pair today dropped from a high of 1.1515 to a low of 1.1470 after the multiple eurozone releases.
The currency pair’s decline started in the early European session following the release of disappointing German retail sales data for December. According to the Federal Statistical Office, retail sales contracted by 4.3% in December missing expectations by 3.8%. The pair extended its decline after the release of Germany’s unemployment change data shortly thereafter, which was lower than expected, while the unemployment rate print met expectations set at 5.0%. The eurozone unemployment rate released by Eurostat was recorded in-line with expectations at 7.9%, while the eurozone Q4 GDP print also met consensus estimates. The weak Italian Q4 GDP data released by Istat also contributed to the decline as the quarterly and annualized prints contracted signaling a recession.
The disappointing US initial jobless claims data released by the Department of Labor contributed to the pair’s slight recovery. The pair was headed lower at the time of writing despite the release of weak ISM Chicago PMI data around the same time.
The pair’s future performance is likely to be affected by tomorrow’s eurozone CPI data and the US non-farm payrolls report.
The EUR/USD currency pair was trading at 1.1478 as at 15:15 GMT having dropped from a high of 1.1515. The EUR/JPY currency pair was trading at 124.79 having fallen from a high of 125.30.
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