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Germany inflates!

The German economy is showing signs of recovery: March producer prices rose 1.9% annually and 0.1% monthly, following a 6-month decline. This indicates an increase in consumer demand, which along with an improving trade balance in February, set the scene for growth in 2018. GDP forecasts are being hiked to 2.2% in 2018 (initial estimates at 2%), which supports optimism for the Euro region. April economic data are softer, with GfK consumer confidence and ZEW current conditions given at 10.90 and 87.90 (2 years averages at 10.30 and 75), so we suspect the economy will continue its acceleration, though at a slower pace than in 2017. The EUR/USD currently trades at 1.2324, moving sideways in April, but will slide a bit until the end of the month, heading to 1.2310 in the short-term.

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