EUR/USD is showing little movement on Friday, as the pair trades in the mid-1.24 range. On the release front, German Retail Sales posted a strong gain of 1.9%, beating the estimate. French Consumer Spending declined by 0.9%, well short of the estimate of a 0.2% gain. Italian Monthly Unemployment was unexpectedly high, coming in at 13.2%. Later in the day, we’ll get a look at Eurozone CPI, a key event which could have a strong impact on EUR/USD. There are no US releases on Friday.
It’s been a good week for releases out of Germany, the Eurozone locomotive. The week wrapped up with Retail Sales, which bounced back with a strong gain of 1.9%, ahead of the estimate of 1.7%. On Thursday, Unemployment Change came in at 14 thousand, much stronger than the estimate of -1K. The business sector remains confident in the economy, as Ifo Business Climate climbed higher in November. Stronger German numbers are crucial to boosting the ailing Eurozone economy, which remains hampered by weak growth and inflation levels, as well as high unemployment.
Ahead of the Thanksgiving holiday, the US released a batch of data on Wednesday and the numbers were anything but impressive. Unemployment Claims jumped to 313 thousand, its highest level since mid-September. Core Durable Goods Orders declined 0.9%, its third decline in four readings. The estimate stood at 0.5%. New Home Sales fell to a 3-month low, dropping to 458 thousand. This was short of the estimate of 471 thousand. Pending Home Sales was no better, declining by 1.1%, well off the estimate of 0.9%. There was better news from UoM Consumer Sentiment, which posted a fourth straight gain, rising to 88.8 points. However, this was short of the estimate of 90.2 points. Despite the weak numbers, market sentiment towards the US economy remains high, and the US dollar was able to hold its own against the euro.
EUR/USD 1.2439 H: 1.2465 L: 1.2429
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