Morning Forex Fundamental: EUR

Morning Forex Fundamental: EUR

Germany, the Netherlands, Austria, Spain and Italy are now all seeing manufacturing grow at the fastest rates for at least two years, and even Greece saw a marked easing in the rate of manufacturing decline' - Chris Williamson, chief economist at Markit

The number of people out of work in Europe's fourth largest economy stagnated last month after falling for five consecutive months, decreasing pressure on the government and adding to evidence of a nascent economic recovery. There is now the same number of jobless people as a month earlier, while in July this indicator tumbled 64,866. Analysts, however, expected a drop of 7,500. During the second quarter, the unemployment rate fell to 26.26%, declining for the first time since the thirsd quarter of 2011. Moreover, youth unemployment eased to 56.14%, from 57.22% in the preceding quarter. The latest data mean that the overall unemployment now stand at 4.7 million, and according to the Labor Ministry the situation improved in all sectors of origin of jobless persons, except in the group that were not previously employed.

Earlier, figures showed that Spain's economy came closer to stabilizing between April and June, however, its slump began three months earlier than initially was thought. Spanish economy contracted 0.1% in the second quarter, posting the smallest drop since the second quarter of 2011, when the economy started to shrink. Even though domestic demand is still weak, Spanish exports are recovering, supporting a view the government would be able to meet its target of 1.3% contraction during this year.