Euro Buoyed By Positive Economic Data In The Euro-Zone And The US,

Euro Buoyed By Positive Economic Data In The Euro-Zone And The US,

For the 24 hours to 23:00 GMT on Friday, EUR rose 0.34% against the USD and closed at 1.3069, boosted by upbeat Euro-zone and US economic data.

On the economic front, Euro-zone’s services purchasing managers’ index (PMI) climbed to 47.8 in December, from a reading of 46.7 in November, while the composite output index rose to 47.2 in December, from 46.5 in November. However, the consumer price index (CPI) remained unchanged at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 2.2% in December, from 2.2% in the preceding month. Meanwhile, Germany’s purchasing managers index (PMI) for the services sector rose to 52.0 in December, slightly lower than 52.1 estimated earlier, and compared to 49.7 in November. Also, retail sales climbed 1.2% (MoM) on a seasonally-and-calendar adjusted basis in November, compared to a 1.3% drop in the previous month.

In France, the services purchasing managers’ index (PMI) fell to a seasonally adjusted 45.2 in December, compared to earlier estimate of 46.0.

The Euro also found support after the US Department of Labor indicated that the economy added 155,000 jobs in December, slightly higher than forecasts for an increase of 150,000, but easing from an upwardly revised increase of 161,000 in November. The unemployment rate held steady at 7.8%.