EUR/GBP under pressure as Eurozone sentiment deteriorates sharply in April

EUR/GBP trades on the back foot on Tuesday, with the British Pound (GBP) outperforming the Euro (EUR) following broadly resilient UK labor market data, while softer economic sentiment from the Eurozone adds further pressure on the Euro.

At the time of writing, the cross is trading around 0.8700. However, it lacks strong directional momentum and remains range-bound as traders stay cautious amid ongoing US-Iran tensions and uncertainty over potential peace talks.

European sentiment weakened notably in April, with the Eurozone’s ZEW Economic Sentiment Index falling to -20.4 from -8.5 and Germany’s ZEW Economic Sentiment Index dropping to -17.2 from -0.5, both missing expectations.

The sharp drop in sentiment shows that ongoing tensions in the Middle East are starting to weigh on the Eurozone’s outlook. “Businesses are concerned about long-term shortages of energy supply, and this discourages investment and weakens the effect of government stimuli,” said ZEW President Professor Achim Wambach, commenting on the latest survey results.

Meanwhile, markets are also pricing in potential interest rate hikes from the European Central Bank (ECB), as rising Oil prices fuel inflation concerns. However, policymakers remain cautious and are not signaling any immediate policy shift. ECB Vice-President Luis de Guindos said on Tuesday, “I believe we need to be cautious, keep a cool head and analyse the data in a context of tremendous uncertainty.”

ECB President Christine Lagarde said on Monday that policymakers need to gather more information before drawing firm conclusions for monetary policy.

Earlier in the day, data released by the Office for National Statistics showed that the Claimant Count Change rose by 26.8K in March, above expectations. However, other labor market indicators pointed to underlying resilience. Employment Change came in at 25K in the three months to February, while the ILO Unemployment Rate eased to 4.9% from 5.2%.

The mixed but resilient labor market data suggest that the Bank of England (BoE) can afford to remain patient on policy easing, even as markets price in the risk of rate hikes driven by higher Oil prices. UK inflation data for March, due on Wednesday, could further influence interest rate expectations.

A Reuters poll on Tuesday showed that all 62 economists expect the BoE to keep the Bank Rate at 3.75% at its April meeting. Around 53% also expect rates to remain unchanged for the rest of the year.