- Euro rises overall on day of mixed data – Confidence rises in Italy
- German confidence dips slightly – Significant advances in Spanish retail sales
- Pound flops after Q2 GDP result – Rising figure fails to enthuse long-term investors
- German unemployment and Eurozone confidence due tomorrow – UK to bring house prices
The Euro has been in comfortably high demand of late, having been put in this position by a crucial rise in confidence for Italy.
The Pound has failed to advance on recent ‘supportive’ GDP data, likely because of how dramatically the next quarter’s results could differ.
Eurozone Economic News: Euro makes Steady Gains against Diverse Data Range
The common currency has been on a stable uptrend overall recently, having been bolstered by better-than-expected retail sales figures for June and a dip in German GfK consumer confidence for August that was not as bad as had been forecast.
Other positive news has come in the form of rising Spanish retail sales in June, as well as advancing Italian consumer confidence for July.
Among the various gains recorded for the Euro have been advances of 0.5% against the Pound (EUR GBP) and the Australian Dollar (EUR AUD), as well as a 0.7% advantage against the Japanese Yen (EUR JPY).
Pound Sterling Slides as UK GDP Offers Inaccurate Picture of Current National Growth
In an unusual development, the Pound has slumped across the board recently, despite high-impact domestic data printing positively.
The reality behind this occurrence is that because of the decision for the UK to leave the EU made at the end of June, positive Q2 GDP growth figures are essentially void when it comes to inspiring confidence in the UK economy.
As such, in order to get an accurate idea of how the UK’s economic growth has been affected by ‘Brexit’, it will require waiting until the end of September for the Q3 growth stats to come out.
Reactions to the news have been mixed; some have been optimistic, with Chancellor Phillip Hammond stating that;
‘Britain is open for business. As we enter a period of adjustment, I’m confident we have the tools to manage the challenges ahead’.
Others have adopted a more pragmatic approach. Pantheon Macroeconomics Chief UK Economist Samuel Tombs claims the data is;
‘not as robust as it seems at face value and it won’t hold back the Bank of England Monetary Policy Committee from cutting interest rates next week’.
Among the Pound’s losses today have been declines of -0.4% against the Euro (GBP EUR), -0.5% against the Danish Krone (GBP DKK) and -0.6% against the South African Rand (GBP ZAR).
Future EUR, GBP Forecast: Impactful Eurozone Stats and UK Housing Data due Tomorrow
For the Eurozone, tomorrow will be a key day, with the morning’s German unemployment stats for July are followed by Eurozone confidence printings for the same month shortly afterwards.
In the former case, the number of German unemployed is expected to fall by -4k, though the actual rate has no change expected from 6.1%.
For the broad spread of Eurozone confidence printings due a few hours later, losses have been predicted in all five categories, which could send the Euro crashing down against its peers.
Ahead of what may be a dim close to the week for the Pound on Friday, the UK will release the Nationwide housing prices for July tomorrow morning, which are expected to fall on both the month and the year.
Current EUR, GBP Exchange Rates
The Euro Pound (EUR GBP) exchange rate was trending in the region of 0.8404 and the Pound Euro (GBP EUR) exchange rate was trending in the region of 1.1908 today.
