020 7898 0500Eurozone data has continued to disappoint this week, yet its effects seem less severe as pessimism becomes the norm in the eighteen-nation bloc. In fact, the single currency has seen some appreciation in recent days as it benefitted from negative developments elsewhere. The euro was a beneficiary of the sterling landslide on Wednesday and we saw the sterling-euro rate remain back below 1.25 as we neared the end of the week. Rate movements against the US dollar have been more short-lived and despite a couple of brief spikes in favour of the euro, the rate has not strayed far from where it was at the beginning of the week.
These developments in rate have come against a backdrop of the worst Economic Sentiment in Germany since 2012, in addition to both French and German growth data showing a lack of growth. It seems that as poor figures in the UK and, to an extent, the US have taken their toll, for the euro this has become the norm. Today, both France and Italy enjoy a bank holiday, and Eurozone influences are set to be limited. Rate movements, if we see them, will be driven from happenings elsewhere.
