Euro Struggles to Rally Despite Upbeat German Retail Sales Data

The  euro today hit new 3-week lows against the  US dollar despite the  release of  upbeat German retail sales data in  the  early European session. The  EUR/USD currency pair spiked lower shortly after the  release of  positive German jobs data, then recouped its losses to  trade sideways.
The  EUR/USD currency pair today spiked to  a  three week low of  1.1209 before recovering and  rallying almost to  its daily high of  1.1238.
The  currency pair traded sideways during the  Asian session amid neutral investor sentiment. The  pair had a  muted reaction to  the  upbeat German retail sales data for  February released by  the  Federal Statistical Office. The  monthly print came in  at  0.90% versus the  expected 0.90% decline, while the  annualized print was recorded at  4.7% versus the  consensus estimate of  2.2%. The  release of  the  German unemployment change report two hours later also had a muted impact on the currency pair as it spiked lower shortly thereafter. The country’s unemployment rate came in at a record low of 4.90%, while the number of jobless claims declined by 7,000, but the two prints could not boost the euro.
The  currency pair’s quick rebound was largely attributed to  improved market sentiment as  well as  end of  quarter flows that were a  bit choppy. The  greenback’s slight pullback as  tracked by  the  US Dollar Index also contributed to  the  recovery.
The  currency pair’s short-term performance is likely to  be influenced by  the  US PCE report and  the  new home sales data.
The EUR/USD currency pair was trading at 1.1229 as at 11:58 GMT having risen from a low of 1.1209. The EUR/JPY currency pair was trading at 124.33 having rallied from a low of 124.12.

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