The euro today fell against the US dollar as investors sold the single currency amid a risk-off market environment as Sino-US tensions skyrocketed on rhetoric from both countries. The EUR/USD currency pair fell despite the release of mostly positive data from across the euro area as investors flocked to the safe-haven greenback.
The EUR/USD currency pair today fell from an opening high of 1.1881 to a low of 1.1810 in the mid-European session and was trading near these lows at the time of writing.
The currency pair fell from the Asian session and into the European open despite the release of upbeat German trade balance data for June. According to the Federal Statistical Office, Germany’s trade balance was 14.5 billion versus the consensus estimate of 10.1 billion. Germany’s industrial production in June expanded by 8.9%, which was better than the expected 8.1% increase but could not lift the single currency. The upbeat preliminary French non-farm payrolls for Q2 released by Insee also had a muted impact on the pair despite recording a 0.6% drop versus the expected 2.2% decline.
The upbeat Italian global trade balance report released by Istat also could not help the pair despite the print coming in at 6.23 billion as opposed to 4.84 billion. The greenback’s strength, as tracked by the US Dollar Index, which hit a high of 93.23, was responsible for the pair’s demise.
The currency pair’s short-term performance is likely to be affected by the release of the US non-farm payrolls at 12:30 GMT.
The EUR/USD currency pair was trading at 1.1817 as at 11:59 GMT, having fallen from a high of 1.1881. The EUR/JPY currency pair was trading at 124.83, having dropped from a high of 125.39.
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