020 7898 0500The euro strengthened steadily throughout the day yesterday across a basket of currencies. The market’s ears were trained on what ECB President Mario Draghi would say in his opening remarks at a conference but, with the Jackson Hole Economic Symposium starting today, nothing new was revealed.
Instead, single currency movements were driven by some positive purchasing managers’ index data. The two largest Eurozone economies, France and Germany, posted better-than-expected figures from their respective manufacturing sectors. This came as a bit of a surprise given the ZEW sentiment survey earlier in the week and the euro managed to recover some of its recent losses.
The aforementioned Jackson Hole Economic Symposium kicks off later and is an event attended by central bankers, finance ministers, academics and financial market participants. The information revealed during the Symposium often gives an indication of the views on the market and future monetary policy. Draghi is not due to speak today but will address the event on Friday. The tone he strikes is anybody’s guess at the moment, but we can expect some further movements in the euro; whether it weakens or strengthens really is dependent on what he says.
