EUR/GBP stalls below 0.8690 amid mixed data from Germany

EUR/GBP treads water around 0.8675 after rejection at 0.8690 on Thursday.
Mixed German data has failed to provide support to the Euro on Friday.
The pair is on track for a 0.3% weekly decline and a 1.5% sell-off from mid-November highs.

Guillermo Alcala FXStreet

The Euro is trading flat in the area of 0.8675 on Friday’s early European session, halfway through the weekly range, following mixed macroeconomic data from Germany. From a wider perspective, the pair is on track for a 0.3% weekly loss and a 1.5% sell-off from mid-November highs above 0.8800.

German data released earlier on Friday revealed that Industrial Production grew 0.8% in November, following a 2.0% increase in the previous month, against market expectations of a 0.4% decline.

The trade surplus, on the other hand, narrowed to €13.1 billion in November, from €16.9 billion in October, below the €16.5 surplus anticipated by the market consensus. Exports dropped 2.5%, against market expectations of flat performance, reactivating concerns about the outlook for the Eurozone’s leading economy.

Later on Friday, Eurozone retail sales are expected to show a 0.1% uptick in November after a 0% reading in October. Year-on-year, retail consumption is expected to have accelerated to 1.6% from 1.5% in October.

In the UK, the economic calendar is thin this week. The Pound remains on the defensive following a downward revision of the S&P Global Services PMI on Monday. These figures have raised concerns about a softening economic growth in a context of high inflation, which will pose a headache for the Bank of England, and is keeping the pair from falling further.

Economic Indicator

Industrial Production n.s.a. w.d.a. (YoY)

The Industrial Production released by the Statistisches Bundesamt Deutschland measures outputs of the German factories and mines. Changes in industrial production are widely followed as a major indicator of strength in the manufacturing sector. A high reading is seen as positive (or bullish) for the EUR, whereas a low reading is seen as negative (or bearish).

Economic Indicator

Exports (MoM)

Exports of goods and services, released by Statistiches Bundesamt Deutschland, consist of transactions of goods ans services (sales, barter, gifts or grants) from residents to non-residents.

EUR/USD deflates to fresh lows, targets 1.1600

The selling pressure on EUR/USD now gathers extra pace, prompting the pair to hit fresh multi-week lows in the 1.1625-1.1620 band on Friday. The continuation of the downward bias comes in response to further gains in the US Dollar as market participants continue to assess the mixed release of US Nonfarm Payrolls in December.

GBP/USD breaks below 1.3400, challenges the 200-day SMA

GBP/USD remains under heavy fire and retreats for the fourth consecutive day on Friday. Indeed, Cable suffers the strong performance of the Greenback, intensified post-mixed NFP, and trades at shouting distance from its critical 200-day SMA near 1.3380.

Gold flirts with yearly tops around $4,500

Gold keeps its positive bias on Friday, adding to Thursday’s advance and challenging yearly highs in the $4,500 region per troy ounce. The risk-off sentiment favours the yellow metal despite the firmer tone in the Greenback and rising US Treasury yields.