France's National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies recently reported that non-farm payrolls for the third quarter stood at 1.6 percent, lower than the previous quarter's 1.8 percent.
The French Ministry for the Economy and Finance published the trade balance figure, which stood at a 4.85 billion euro deficit, better than expectations of 6.3 billion and lower than the previous month's 5.59 billion deficit. Exports amounted to 38.85 billion euros in October, higher than the previous month's 37.6 billion, while imports amounted to 37.6 billion, an increase from the previous month's 43.19 billion.
The COVID-19 virus continues to spread in France, so far infecting 2,295,908 individuals and killing about 55,521, making France one of the most affected countries in the world. Despite actions being taken to contain the virus, France is still far from its goal of reducing the number of daily contagions to 5000, especially now that the number of contagions has stopped falling.
By 9:14 GMT, the euro went up by 0.19 percent against the US dollar, hitting the 1.2131 level.
British PM to Meet With European Commission President
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson is set to meet with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in Brussels, in an attempt to finally reach a post-Brexit trade deal.
It seems that both the UK and the European Union have been unsuccessful in finding common ground regarding several key topics, such as business competition rules and fishing. The EU's chief negotiator, Michel Barnier, is set to meet with his British counterpart on Tuesday to continue the trade talks.
The United Kingdom will be leaving the European Union by January 1st, 2021, and whether or not it leaves with a trade deal is still not clear.
By 9:26 GMT, the pound sterling went down by 0.17 percent against the greenback, hitting the 1.3354 level.