German IFO Business Climate Index plunges to 90.8 in March, a big miss.

German IFO Business Climate Index came in at 90.8 in March.
IFO Current Economic Assessment fell to 97.1 this month.
March German IFO Expectations Index arrived at 85.1.

Dhwani Mehta FXStreet

The headline German IFO Business Climate Index slumped to 90.8 in March versus last month's 98.5 and the consensus estimates of 94.2.

Meanwhile, the Current Economic Assessment dropped to 97.1 points in the reported month as compared to last month's 98.6 and 96.5 anticipated.

The IFO Expectations Index – indicating firms’ projections for the next six months, worsened to 85.1 in March from the previous month’s 98.4 reading and much better than the market expectations of 92.0.

Market reaction

EUR/USD is paring back gains on the mixed German IFO survey.

At the time of writing, the pair is up 0.15% on the day, trading at 1.1011.

About German IFO

The headline IFO business climate index was rebased and recalibrated in April after the IFO research Institute changed series from the base year of 2000 to the base year of 2005 as of May 2011 and then changed series to include services as of April 2018. The survey now includes 9,000 monthly survey responses from firms in the manufacturing, service sector, trade and construction.

Author

Dhwani Mehta

FXStreet

Residing in Mumbai (India), Dhwani is a Senior Analyst and Manager of the Asian session at FXStreet. She has over 10 years of experience in analyzing and covering the global financial markets, with specialization in Forex and commodities markets.

EUR/USD weakens below 1.1700 as Middle East tensions drive US Dollar strength

The EUR/USD pair trades with mild losses around 1.1685, the lowest since late January, during the early Asian session on Tuesday. The US Dollar gathers strength against the Euro as escalating tensions in the Middle East boost safe-haven currencies. The preliminary reading of the Harmonized Index of Consumer Prices from the Eurozone will be published later on Tuesday.

GBP/USD hits new yearly lows near 1.3300

GBP/USD adds to the recent bearish tone, approaching to the key 1.3300 support to reach fresh YTD troughs against the backdrop of the robust performance of the US Dollar. Indeed, Cable’s decline comes amid the firm demand for the safe-haven space in the wake of the US and Israel attacks to Iran.

Gold defends bids as US-Iran war continues to fuel safe-haven flows

Gold retains positive bias for the fifth consecutive day on Tuesday as rising geopolitical tensions in the Middle East continue to underpin safe-haven assets. However, a bullish US Dollar keeps the bullion below its highest level since late January, set on Monday, warranting caution before positioning for any further appreciation.