After posting a two-week high on Friday (April 20th), Euro dollar retracted, giving up most of these gains by the start of the trading week. The markets shifted their gaze from Spain to France, where President Nicholas Sarkozy did not fare well against challenger Francois Hollande. Hollande has called for a renegotiation of the euro zone fiscal pact, which could of course, have major implications for the Euro. Monday morning greeted the markets with a host of disappointing releases out of the Eurozone this morning, particularly in the manufacturing sectors. As a result, we could see the Euro drop even further as the trading week gets underway.
Here’s an update on technicals, fundamentals and what’s going on in the markets.
EUR/USD Technicals
- Asian session: EUR/USD continued to rise from after Friday’s trading, hitting a high of 1.3210. and consolidating at 1.3182. The pair is sliding in the European session, trading at 1.3147.
- Current range: 1.3110 to 1.3165. Â
- Further levels in both directions: Below: 1.3050, 1.2945, 1.2873, 1.2760, 1.2660 and 1.2623.
- Â Above: 1.3165, 1.3212, 1.33, 1.3360, 1.3437, 1.3486 and 1.3550.
- 1.3212 is providing weak resistance to the pair.
- 1.3050 has been breached, with 1.30 the next support level below.
Euro/Dollar sliding on weak Euro-zone data – click on the graph to enlarge.
EUR/USD Fundamentals
- 7:00Â French Flash Manufacturing PMI. Exp. +47.3. Actual +47.3.
- 7:00Â French Flash Services PMI. Exp. +46.4. Actual +50.3.
- 7:30Â German Flash Manufacturing PMI. Exp. +46.3. Actual +49.0.
- 7:30 German Flash Services PMI. Exp. +52.6. Actual +52.4
- 8:00 Euro-zone Flash Manufacturing PMI. Exp. +46.0. Actual +48.1.
- 8:00 Euro-zone Flash Services PMI. Exp. +47.9. Actual +49.4.
For more events later in the week, see the Euro dollar
EUR/USD Sentiment
- Uncertainty after French Election: Socialist challenger Francois Hollande will face President Nicholas Sarkozy in the presidential run-off after yesterday’s inconclusive results. favors renegotiating the Euro-zone fiscal arrangement in order to stimulate growth, rather than implementing strict austerity measures. presidential run-off after yesterday’s inconclusive results and the Euro could be affected, at least initially, if Hollande wins the election.
- Do Greek banks need aid?: The deadline for publishing reports was delayed for Greek banks due to the huge PSI deal. The reports, published after the Athens stock exchange closes, will be closely watched. Losing over 70% on their own government’s bonds could certainly inflict damage to their balance sheets. 25 billion euros of EFSF money was already transferred this week to Greece. Will it need more for the banks? The publication will impact the euro.
- PSI Leftovers: A small portion of Greek bonds were issued outside Greece, and therefore was immune to the Collective Action Clauses – losses could not be imposed on bondholders, like they were in local bonds.. The government in Athens delayed the deadline for the PSI over and over again as there were many holdouts and not enough “volunteersâ€. If bondholders insist, the dilemma will be between defaulting and triggering more worries for other countries, or paying out and having to cut more in the beaten budgets. Perhaps more bondholders were convinced to “volunteerâ€.
- Mediocre Bond Auction for Spain: Europe’s fourth largest economy managed to raise enough money, also for long term bonds, but paid a higher price. Yields remain around 6%, and this cannot last too long. The markets still follow the budget talks in Spain, now focusing on two regions: Andalusia and Catalonia.
- US Releases Worry Markets: Despited some good retail sales figures, last week’s releases were dismal. Existing home sales and the Philly Index dropped. More worrying were the jobless claims, that remained at elevated levels. The slowdown in unemployment cannot be easily dismissed as a one time event.
- Chinese Downturn?: China’s economic indicators continue to be a source of concern for the markets. The move to expand the yuan’s band is also seen as supportive for the Chinese economy, that requires this support. With Europe in deep trouble and the economic recovery in the US losing some of its shines, weakness in China could spell another global recession.
