German ZEW Economic Sentiment Index drops to 70.7 in April, misses estimates

German ZEW Economic Sentiment arrived at 70.7 in Apr vs. 79.0 expected.
ZEW Current Situation for Germany came in at -48.8 in Apr vs. -53.0 expected
EUR/USD drops below 1.1900 on mixed ZEW numbers.

Dhwani Mehta FXStreet

The German ZEW headline numbers for April showed that the Economic Sentiment Index dropped to 70.7 versus 79.0 expectations and 76.6 last.

While the sub-index Current Conditions figure arrived at -48.8 in April versus -53.0 expected and -61.0 booked previously.

Meanwhile, the Eurozone ZEW Economic Sentiment for April fell to 66.3 vs. 73.2 expected and 74.0 last.

ZEW President Professor Achim Wambach noted: “This is the first time that the indicator has experienced a drop since November 2020. The financial market experts are somewhat less euphoric than in the previous month. Fears of a stricter lockdown have led to a decline in expectations for private consumption.”

“Outlook for exports is better than in the previous month,” Wambach added.

EUR/USD reaction

EUR/USD fails to sustain its bounce above 1.1900 on mixed German and Eurozone ZEW surveys. The spot trades 0.13% lower at 1.1894, as of writing.

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 climbs to daily highs near 1.1820

EUR/USD now picks up pace and advances to the area of daily peaks north of the 1.1800 barrier at the end of the week. The pair’s decent move higher comes against the backdrop of a generalised lack of direction in the FX galaxy and the mild offered stance in the US Dollar.

GBP/USD trims losses, retests 1.3460

After briefly challenging its key 200-day SMA near 1.3440, GBP/USD now manages to regain some balance and revisit the 1.3460 zone on Friday. Cable’s pullback comes as the selling pressure on the Greenback gathers traction, reigniting some recovery in the risk-linked space.

Gold flirts with four-week highs past $5,200

Gold extends its rebound, climbing for a third consecutive session and pushing back above the $5,200 mark per troy ounce on Friday. The move higher continues to draw support from lingering geopolitical tensions and the ongoing uncertainty surrounding US trade policy, both of which are keeping safe-haven demand firmly in play.

Bitcoin, Ethereum and Ripple consolidate with short-term cautious bullish bias

Bitcoin, Ethereum and Ripple are consolidating near key technical areas on Friday, showing mild signs of stabilization after recent volatility. BTC holds above $67,000 despite mild losses so far this week, while ETH hovers around $2,000 after a rejection near its upper consolidation boundary.

Changing the game: International implications of recent tariff developments

The Supreme Court ruling on International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) tariffs provides limited relief for the rest of the world, with weighted average tariff rates modestly lower.

Starknet unveils strkBTC, shielded Bitcoin transactions on Ethereum Layer 2

Starknet, the Ethereum Layer 2 network developed by StarkWare, today announced strkBTC, a wrapped Bitcoin asset that introduces optional shielding while preserving full DeFi composability.