020 7898 0500The euro weakened against sterling and the dollar yesterday, following the release of PMI data that wasn’t exactly disappointing, but showed growth is slowing in Germany and the eurozone. The single currency’s tumble against the dollar was also partly attributed to the rise in US bond yields.
In Germany, composite, services and manufacturing PMI came in at 55.3, 54.1 and 58.1 respectively, against expectations of 54.8, 53.7 and 57.5 respectively. Thus, all exceeded expectations which was particularly encouraging given how disappointing recent economic data releases from the eurozone have been.
In the eurozone, composite, manufacturing and services came in at 55.2, 56.0 and 55.0 respectively, against expectations of 54.9, 56.6 and 54.6 respectively. Apologies for using the word respectively this many times. Manufacturing PMi was the only reading that came in below forecast, and is the weakest pace of expansion since February 2017.
Today we have the German Ifo business climate for April. It is expected to fall sharply, from 114.7 to 102.6. The key highlight will be the European Central Bank’s interest rate decision and press conference on Thursday.
