Two positive figures from Europe’s fourth largest economy came out in 15 minutes and were enough to wake up EUR/USD.
The pair rose from 1.3887 to 1.3914 and is holding on to the new round number. This is the highest in 7 weeks and quite close to the ECB’s “line in the sand†of 1.40. Will the stronger exchange rate force Draghi to act?
Here is the run up of euro/dollar on the 30 minute chart:
Spain reported a drop of 111,565 people from the lists of unemployment in April to 4,684,301 people out of work. This month is usually characterized by stronger employment as the tourism season begins. Nevertheless, also in seasonally adjusted terms, this is a drop of 50,202 people and the best April since the ’90s. Year over, the number of people looking for a job is down 304,892.
More good news came from Markit. The services PMI for the month of April made a big surprise: it posted a jump from 54 to 56.5 points, reflecting stronger growth. Expectations stood on a small rise to 54.3 points.
The Italian services PMI and final figures from France and Germany will complete the final services PMI. Later on, we also have retail sales from the euro-zone.
Important resistance awaits at the multi-year high of 1.3964, which precedes the round number of 1.40, a number which is carefully watched by the European Central Bank.
ECB president Mario Draghi already said several times that the exchange rate may force his institution to act. Will he follow up with action? We will know on Thursday.
– more coming
For more, see the EUR to USD prediction.
