The EUR/USD currency pair today hit new highs during the late European session and into the North American session after the release of positive Markit Flash Eurozone PMI data. The pair’s rally was also attributed to the weaker US dollar, which was under intense selling pressure after Donald Trump threatened a government shutdown during a rally in Arizona.
The currency pair gained over 75 points at the height of its rally as the US dollar weakened against the euro.
The release of positive Markit Eurozone Manufacturing PMI for the month of August, which came in at 57.4 versus the expected 56.3, contributed to the EUR/USD’s rally given that it exceeded market expectations. The release of Markit/BME Germany Manufacturing PMI also contributed to the rally as the reported figure for August was 55.7 as compared to the market consensus of 54.7. The neutral tone taken by the European Central Bank Governor, Mario Draghi, during his speech in Lindau, Germany, also boosted the single currency.
The US dollar was largely weaker against the euro during most of today’s session given that the US Dollar Index hit a low of 93.20, and was on a downward trend at the time of writing. The release of the negative Markit US Manufacturing PMI, which was recorded at 52.5, and was much lower than the expected 53.5, also contributed to the weaker greenback.
The currency pair’s future performance is likely to be affected by the events at the Jackson Hole symposium scheduled for later this week.
The EUR/USD currency pair was trading at 1.1804 as at 15:44 GMT having rallied from a low of 1.1740. The EUR/GBP pair was trading at 0.9231 having risen from a low of 0.9159.
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