By: Barbara Zigah
The Euro fell broadly in Asian trading as the repercussions of yesterday’s less than impressive jobs and manufacturing data continue to take its toll. The EUR/USD pair touched on a low of $1.3278 yesterday, but was able to recoup some of those losses and inched back to $1.3344, a gain of 0.2%. According to Eurostat’s data, Eurozone unemployment crept higher to 10.8% from 10.7%, though that was in line with analysts’ expectations. The PMI readings for Germany and the broader Eurozone issued by Markit Economics showed a contraction from the previous period but for Germany at least were slightly better than forecast. In contrast, China earlier saw a marked improvement in the reading, an the U.S. ISM manufacturing data was better than expected.
The Australian Dollar had edged higher against the U.S. Dollar ahead of the Reserve Bank of Australia’s interest rate decision, which ultimately decided against any movement of the rate which has been at 4.25% for the past several months. Markets had been pricing in the possibility of a rate cut, with the most recent odds a 1 in 3 chance, but a unanimous poll of economists did not foresee any movement at this time. As reported at 12:51 p.m. (JST), the AUD/USD pair was trading 0.3% higher at $1.0444, a gain of 0.3%.
Euro Stung by Labor and PMI Data
After working on Wall Street, Barb began her second career as a freelance writer at Daily Forex, where the CEO recognized fresh, untapped potential and was willing to give her a try. She’s never looked back. Since then, she’s worked steadily as a freelance writer and editor in the financial services and Forex-related industry.