020 7898 0500News that the EU will be making a complaint to the WTO about the recent trade tariffs the US has imposed on steel and aluminium imports was hardly surprising, but Commissioner Cecilia Malmstrom also said that they would be making a challenge against China on intellectual property. This situation is set to rumble on for the foreseeable future.
Meanwhile, there was some relatively good news, in that the recent political turmoil in Italy has now come an end with the formation of a new coalition government. Prime Minister Rajoy was axed, but he was replaced by a euro-friendly administration which should ease tensions somewhat.
German manufacturing PMI beat forecast, while the eurozone’s came in as expected and there are plenty more PMI releases this week. Tomorrow we will composite and services PMI for Germany and the eurozone, as well as the eurozone’s retail sales for May. European Central Bank President Mario Draghi is scheduled to give a speech on Tuesday and it will be interesting to hear what he has to say.
