The Euro edged higher for a third-consecutive day against the Pound and moved further away from the 1.20 mark on Tuesday after data out of Italy and news that Germany could soon form a government bolstered the single currency.
Earlier in the session the Euro came under pressure after data released in Finland showed that unemployment in the nation rose to 8.2% from 7.6% beating all forecasts for the rate to fall to 7.1%. The data highlighted how unemployment continues to be a major issue for the Eurozone economy. Retail sales in the country increased to 1% however offering a glimmer of hope that the regions recovery could still be salvaged.
Later in the morning the Euro pushed higher after data showed that consumer confidence in recession wracked Italy improved.
According to the data compiled by the statistics institute Istat, confidence improved in the export led northern regions of the country, with households in the wealthier regions of the country signalling that they felt more confident with their own balance sheets.
The disparity between the north and south of the country was highlighted by the data with families in the south not as confident as those in the north. In the middle region of the nation and in particular Rome, confidence was lower.
The Italian consumer confidence index came in at 98.3 for November, higher than the 97.3 seen in October and better than the forecasted figure of 97.5.
The Euro received further support from news that Germany may be on the verge of finally forming a government. After five-weeks of talks it seems that Chancellor Angela Merkel’s Christian Democrats are on the verge of signing a coalition contract with the Social Democratic Party. A long day and night of negotiations is expected as the two sides still need to agree on issues such as the implementation of a minimum wage and taxes.
“It will be a long day and maybe a long night,” Manuela Schwesig, a member of the SPD’s national committee and one of the negotiators, told reporters. “It’s typical for negotiations that you deal with the toughest items at the end.”
If a deal is reached tomorrow then we can expect the Euro to edge higher against its peers.
Euro (EUR) Exchange Rates
As of 11:00 am GMT
The Euro/US Dollar Exchange Rate is currently in the region of: 1.3545
The Euro/Pound Sterling Exchange Rate is currently in the region of: 0.8371
The Euro/Australian Dollar Exchange Rate is currently in the region of: 1.4814
The Euro/ New Zealand Dollar Exchange Rate is currently in the region of: 1.6508
The Euro/ Canadian Dollar Exchange Rate is currently in the region of: 1.4280
The Euro/ Japanese Yen Rate Exchange Rate is currently in the region of: 137.3634
The Euro/Swiss Franc Exchange Rate is currently in the region of: 1.2316
The Pound Sterling/ Euro Exchange Rate is currently in the region of: 1.1945
The US Dollar/Euro Exchange Rate is currently in the region of: 0.7381
The Australian Dollar/Euro Exchange Rate is currently in the region of: 0.6749
The New Zealand Dollar/Euro Exchange Rate is currently in the region of: 0.6055
The Canadian Dollar/Euro Exchange Rate is currently in the region of: 0.7001
Swiss Franc/Euro Exchange Rate is currently in the region of: 0.8119
