020 7898 0500The total number of unemployed people in Germany fell by 19,000 to 2.37 million in March which was better than expected. It means that, at 5.3%, the current rate of unemployment is the lowest level on record. The euro strengthened a little against sterling and did very little against the dollar. It was a pretty quiet day for the currency markets if truth be told.
We also saw the preliminary German inflation rate for March. It is expected to increase a little to 1.6% in March from 1.4% the month before. However, the markets had forecast an increase to 1.7%. As this is a preliminary estimate that prediction could later prove true.
Today we have the German retail sales for February and the Markit manufacturing PMI figures from across the eurozone and Germany. Both are expected to dip a little. Tomorrow we will see the flash reading of the eurozone’s inflation rate and it will be interesting to see whether it moves closer to the European Central Bank’s 2% target rate.
