News

Euro Appreciates Above $1.20
The euro rose above $1.20 for the first time since March 7th, as optimism about a strong economic recovery was supported by signs of an acceleration in the vaccine pace in Europe. At the same time, several EU countries continued their efforts to re-open their economies, while upbeat economic data released on Friday showed that consumer prices in the Euro Area rose in March by the most in over a year. Elsewhere, investor focus shifts to this week's ECB monetary policy meeting, with no changes to rates or guidance expected.
Published on 2021-04-19

Euro Hovers Around 1-Month High
The euro was little-changed at $1.198 on Friday, not far from yesterday's one-month high of $1.199, as investors await the outcomes of both the Eurogroup and the Eurozone finance ministers meetings. Meanwhile, economic data confirmed that consumer prices in the Euro Area rose in March by the most in over a year, while the core index eased to a three-month low. Earlier this week, ECB Vice President Luis de Guindos told the European Parliament's committee on monetary affairs that the central bank will act on any "detrimental" rise in borrowing costs until the coronavirus pandemic is over. The policymaker also said that broad economic activity should pick up strongly in the second half of this year thanks to vaccinations, the easing of confinement measures and monetary and fiscal policy support in the Euro Area. Still, he also warned that the recovery is expected to be fragile.
Published on 2021-04-16

Euro Hits 1-Month High
The euro touched $1.199 on Thursday, its highest level since March 11th, before trading mostly unchanged at $1.197. Economic data released earlier in the session confirmed that consumer prices in Germany and France rose in March by the most in over a year, while Italy's inflation rate hit the highest level since May 2019. ECB Vice President Luis de Guindos told the European Parliament's committee on monetary affairs on Wednesday that the central bank will act on any "detrimental" rise in borrowing costs until the coronavirus pandemic is over. The policymaker also said that broad economic activity should pick up strongly in the second half of this year thanks to vaccinations, the easing of confinement measures and monetary and fiscal policy support in both the Euro Area and the rest of the world. At the same time, uncertainty remains high and the recovery is expected to be fragile, with GDP only reaching its pre-crisis level in the second quarter of 2022.
Published on 2021-04-15

Euro Hits 4-week High
EURUSD increased to a 4-week high of 1.1987
Published on 2021-04-15

Euro Appreciates Above $1.19
The euro bounced back above $1.19 on Wednesday, having touched its strongest level since March 18th, after ECB Vice President Luis de Guindos told the European Parliament's committee on monetary affairs that the central bank will act on any "detrimental" rise in borrowing costs until the coronavirus pandemic is over. The policymaker also said that broad economic activity should pick up strongly in the second half of this year thanks to vaccinations, the easing of confinement measures and monetary and fiscal policy support in both the Euro Area and the rest of the world. At the same time, uncertainty remains high and the recovery is expected to be fragile, with GDP only reaching its pre-crisis level in the second quarter of 2022. The euro hit a five-month low of $1.17 at the end of March, due to the extension of restriction measures across the bloc, rising COVID-19 cases and vaccine delays.
Published on 2021-04-14

Euro Remains Under Pressure
The euro traded below $1.19 in mid-April, not far from a five-month low of $1.17 hit at the end of March, as poor economic data from the bloc's largest economies and rising COVID-19 cases weighed on sentiment. German Chancellor Angela Merkel spoke out again in favor of a strict national lockdown for a short period of time, with the federal government set to introduce legislation that would allow it to impose national restrictions without the backing of regional authorities. On the political front, Bavarian leader Markus Soeder has joined the race to replace Angela Merkel as the head of the CDU and CSU's candidate for September's elections.
Published on 2021-04-12

Euro Weakens Below $1.19 on Poor Data
The euro depreciated below $1.19 on Friday, not far from last week's five-month low of $1.17, after economic data showed industrial production in Germany and France contracted sharply in February, missing market forecasts of activity growth. Elsewhere, investors tried to focus on the prospect of a strong economic recovery, despite the uncertainty around rising infection rates and the slow rollout of vaccines. EU leaders agreed last month on the need to urgently accelerate the vaccination campaigns, but said they would keep restrictions in place for the time being, including on non-essential travel.
Published on 2021-04-09

Euro Appreciates Towards $1.19
The euro firmed towards the $1.19 mark, having touched on Wednesday its strongest level since March 24th and moving further away from last week's five-month low of $1.17. Investors focused on the prospect of a strong economic recovery, despite the uncertainty around rising infection rates and the slow rollout of vaccines. Last month, EU leaders agreed on the need to urgently accelerate the vaccination campaigns, but said they would keep restrictions in place for the time being, including on non-essential travel.
Published on 2021-04-07

Euro Rebounds Above $1.18
The euro bounced back above the $1.18 mark, having touched on Tuesday its strongest level since March 25th and recovering from last week's five-month low of $1.17. Investors focused on the prospect of a strong economic recovery, despite the uncertainty around rising infection rates and the slow rollout of vaccines. Last month, EU leaders agreed on the need to urgently accelerate the vaccination campaigns, but said they would keep restrictions in place for the time being, including on non-essential travel.
Published on 2021-04-06

Euro Remains Close to Over 4-Month Low
The euro traded around the $1.175 mark in early April, hovering at its weakest level since November 5th, as investors fear that rising COVID-19 cases across Europe and the ongoing restrictive measures and vaccine delays could further hurt economic recovery. EU leaders insisted during its March summit on the need to urgently accelerate the vaccination campaigns and agreed to keep restrictions in place for the time being, including on non-essential travel. The euro has lost 4% against the greenback so far this year.
Published on 2021-04-05

Euro Trades at Near 5-Month Low
The euro traded around the $1.17 mark at the start of April, hovering at its weakest level since November 5th, as investors fear that rising COVID-19 cases across Europe and the ongoing restrictive measures and vaccine delays could further hurt economic recovery. Last week, EU leaders insisted on the need to urgently accelerate the vaccination campaigns and agreed to keep restrictions in place for the time being, including on non-essential travel. On the monetary policy front, the ECB said during its March monetary policy meeting that it would conduct emergency bond purchases at a significantly higher pace over the next quarter, aiming to bring government bond yields down and to support the Eurozone economic recovery.
Published on 2021-04-01

Euro Trades Around 4-Month Lows
The euro traded below $1.18 at the end of March, hovering around its weakest level since November 12th and heading for an over 2% monthly loss against the USD, amid concerns about a surge in COVID-19 cases across Europe and the negative impact of restrictive measures and vaccine delays on economic recovery. Last week, EU leaders insisted on the need to urgently accelerate the vaccination campaigns and agreed to keep restrictions in place for the time being, including on non-essential travel. On the monetary policy front, the ECB said during its March monetary policy meeting that it would conduct emergency bond purchases at a significantly higher pace over the next quarter, aiming to bring government bond yields down and to support the Eurozone economic recovery.
Published on 2021-03-29

Euro Trades at Over 4-Month Low
The euro traded below $1.18 on Friday, hovering around its weakest level since November 12th, amid concerns about a surge in COVID-19 cases across Europe and the negative impact of restrictive measures and vaccine delays on economic recovery. Meanwhile, the European Council summit continued for a second day, with EU leaders discussing the COVID-19 epidemiological situation, the situation in the Eastern Mediterranean, and relations with Russia. On the monetary policy front, the ECB said during its March monetary policy meeting that it would conduct emergency bond purchases at a significantly higher pace over the next quarter, aiming to bring government bond yields down and to support the Eurozone economic recovery.
Published on 2021-03-26

Euro Hits 4-Month Low on Recovery Concerns
The euro traded around $1.18 on Thursday, its weakest level since November 23rd, amid concerns about a surge in COVID-19 cases across Europe and the negative impact of restrictive measures and vaccine delays on economic recovery. Meanwhile, investors awaited the outcome of a two-day European Council summit at which EU leaders are set to discuss the COVID-19 epidemiological situation and to decide whether to ban vaccine exports. On the monetary policy front, the ECB said during its March monetary policy meeting that it would conduct emergency bond purchases at a significantly higher pace over the next quarter, aiming to bring government bond yields down and to support the Eurozone economic recovery. On the economic data front, German consumer confidence improved to a five-month high heading into April, but the data was collected prior to the announcement of a lockdown extension until April 18th.
Published on 2021-03-25

Euro Hits 17-Week Low
The euro changed hands at $1.1830 on Wednesday, a level not seen since November, amid a general dollar strength as an uncertain coronavirus outlook, extended lockdown in Germany and tensions with China over sanctions weighed on investor's risk appetite. Meanwhile, bond yields fell across the region, while recent data showed the ECB bought €28 billion worth of bonds last week, a 48% increase over the previous week and the biggest weekly amount since December 4th. During its March monetary policy meeting, the ECB said it would conduct emergency bond purchases at a significantly higher pace over the next quarter, aiming to bring government bond yields down and to support the Eurozone economic recovery.
Published on 2021-03-23

Euro Depreciates on Uncertain Coronavirus Outlook
The Euro traded lower around $1.188 on Tuesday amid a general dollar strength as an uncertain coronavirus outlook, extended lockdown in Germany and tensions with China over sanctions weighed on investor's risk appetite. Meanwhile, bond yields fell across the region while recent data showed the ECB bought €28 billion worth of bonds last week, a 48% increase over the previous week and the biggest weekly amount since December 4th. During its March monetary policy meeting, the ECB said it would conduct emergency bond purchases at a significantly higher pace over the next quarter, aiming to bring government bond yields down and to support the Eurozone economic recovery.
Published on 2021-03-23

Euro Trades Cautiously on Monday
The Euro traded around $1.19 on Monday as investors were generally cautious amid a tumult in Turkey after President Erdogan fired the respected central bank chief with a critic of high interest rates, after the central bank raised rates by 200 basis points last week. Meanwhile, traders continue to worry over a surge in COVID-19 cases across Europe and the negative impact of restrictive measures and vaccine delays on economic recovery. On the monetary policy front, investors await fresh data on the ECB weekly bond purchases as the central bank is seen accelerating the pace of bond-buying.
Published on 2021-03-22

Euro Little-Changed at $1.19
The euro traded around $1.19, not far from an over three-month low of $1.184 hit on March 9th, amid concerns about a surge in COVID-19 cases across Europe and the negative impact of restrictive measures and vaccine delays on economic recovery. On the monetary policy front, European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde said Thursday that the central bank might need some time before the recently agreed acceleration in the pace of bond purchases, following the central bank's decision last week to boost the pace of money printing to bring yields down.
Published on 2021-03-19

Euro Trades Lower on Thursday
The euro traded around $1.19, not far from an over three-month low of $1.184 hit on March 9th, after European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde said that the central bank might need some time before the recently agreed acceleration in the pace of bond purchases. These remarks followed the central bank's decision last week to boost the pace of money printing to bring yields down and support the Eurozone economic recovery. Elsewhere, investors continued to monitor the slow pace of COVID-19 vaccination in the EU and its impact on Europe's economic recovery.
Published on 2021-03-18

Euro Hovers Around 3-Month Low
The euro traded around $1.19, not far from an over three-month low of $1.184 hit on March 9th, as investors continue to monitor the slow pace of COVID-19 vaccination in the EU and its impact on Europe's economic recovery. Several EU member states have halted their rollouts of the Oxford-AstraZeneca jab in recent days following reports of blood coagulation disorders in recipients. Meanwhile, EU leaders reaffirmed their commitment to support the bloc's economy amid the COVID-19 crisis, and agreed on the need to keep a budgetary stance in 2021 and in 2022, which will be supportive and which will pave the way for recovery. On the monetary policy front, the European Central Bank said last week it would conduct emergency bond purchases at a significantly higher pace over the next quarter, aiming to curb rising bond yields and support the bloc's economy.
Published on 2021-03-16