020 7898 0500It was a mixed week for the euro, particularly against the dollar, as it began the week strengthening, before two consecutive days of losses. However, on Thursday it made the tiniest bit of ground, before gaining more than 0.5% against the greenback on Friday. Like sterling, the euro benefited from Trump’s comments on Fed policy which drove the dollar down and affected stock markets around the world.
There were no major economic releases from the eurozone on Friday, but this week promises to be an extremely busy one. Today we have the flash consumer confidence reading for July, before a raft of Markit purchasing managers’ indices from Germany and the eurozone. Composite, manufacturing and services PMI are expected to dip across the board in July. While what analysts are forecasting only amount to slight slowdowns in growth, we could be in for some surprises.
On Thursday, the European Central Bank will announce its interest rate decision, but we all already know that president Mario Draghi has said rates won’t be hiked until at least the middle of next year. It would be one of the biggest surprises in recent times if policymakers did an about-turn. It will be interesting to see what is said in the accompanying press conference – especially if there is a change in future policy.
