Purchasing managers’ indices in the euro-zone all came better than expected, yet EUR/USD cannot hold above 1.30. After a short run higher, the pair falls down once again.
A significant part of the fall can be blamed on the Swiss National Bank, that didn’t act to further weaken the Swiss franc against the euro.
The Data
French Flash Services PMI was a good surprise: it rose above 50 points, indicating some growth. Expectations stood on a drop from 49.6 to 49.1 points. Manufacturing PMI also jumped from 47.3 to 48.7 points. Also here, estimations were for a slide.
Germany’s services sector is growing nicely, with the indicator rising from 50.3 to 52.7 points, much better than expected. The manufacturing sector ticked up from 47.9 to 48.1. A drop was predicted.
The all-European figures are still in contraction territory, under 50, but with some improvements. Euro-zone services PMI rose from 47.5 to 48.3. A drop to 47.1 was expected. Manufacturing remains weak, at 46.9 points, but this is still an improvement from last month’s 46.4 points.
EUR/USD Weakens
EUR/USD already reached 1.3035 earlier, but is now back to range seen in the Asian session, currently at 1.2985.
The Swiss National Bank was expected to lift the floor under EUR/CHF, from 1.20 to 1.25 or even 1.30. This didn’t happen. The SNB only maintained the current policy. EUR/CHF reacted with a sharp fall, and so did USD/CHF.
EUR/USD took its time to act, but we now see the result – the euro is falling, despite the good PMIs.
For technical levels and more analysis for EUR/USD, see the EUR/USD.
