Euro Drops as Shaky Q4 Data Shape Up
On Friday, the euro declined in the foreign exchange market after the early European trading. It was by the indications of a weak point in the region’s two leading economies.
Moreover, the EUR/USD pair traded at $1.1027, below 0.1%. It is along with the EUR/GBP pair that plunged 0.2% to 0.8398.
First up, German retail sales tumbled by 3.3% in December. The figure was much weaker than expected. It has also been indicating the country’s shoppers reined in their spending in the final month of last year.
Meanwhile, retail sales are an unpredictable indicator. The amount of them is disappointing after a surprise in the GfK sentiment indicator hinted on Wednesday.
The indication was about consumer confidence in the euro zone’s leading economy is healthy.
Earlier Friday, official data demonstrated the French economy surprisingly contracted in the final quarter of last year. It is with GDP declining 0.1%, the first time it has signed since Emmanuel Macron took over as President.
The figure was much lower than the anticipation, as economists on average had predicted an increase of 0.2% in the quarter.
On the flip side, France has been on hit by a surge of strikes. The attack was amid protests versus Macron’s controversial planned pension reforms.
Further Movements in the Forex Market
In addition, preliminary data for eurozone GDP are already due. The French numbers may also be partly offset by better-than-expected ones out of Spain.
It is where GDP increased by 0.5% rather than the 0.4% anticipated.
Meanwhile, Sterling inched up after consumer confidence hit a 16-month high rank in January.
The upsurge experienced was on the day that the U.K. officially leaves the EU.
To add, the GBP/USD pair was at a three-week high of $1.3140 in the FX Market.
Elsewhere, the US Dollar Index Futures that tracks the greenback versus a basket of other currencies, strengthened by 0.1% to 97.73 after forex trading.
The dollar continues to be in demand as a form of a safe haven.
However, the number of deaths from China’s coronavirus also exceeds 200, with impending 10,000 people affected.
After that incident, the Chinese yuan was a little tougher on Friday. It is along with the USD/CNY pair that facilitates the confidence by the World Health Organization in China’s attempts to contain the outbreak.
In a statement, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said, “I have seen the capacity, and I believe (China) will control this outbreak as soon as possible.”
He indicates that on the heels of proclaiming the virus epidemic a global health emergency.
