Germany’s manufacturing sector is firing on all engines, at least according to the manufacturing PMI. It jumped to 59.4 points, much better than projected. The services PMI also came out above expectations, but only just: 53.4 points.
EUR/USD is moving up, trading at 1.1770 after reaching a high of 1.1777. The pair trades in a very narrow range today, and the news sent it towards the top of this 30-pip range.
Markit’s German manufacturing PMI was expected to slip from 58.1 to 57.7 points in August. Services PMI carried expectations for a tick up from 53.1 to 53.3. Any score above 50 represents expansion.
EUR/USD was trading very steadily in range, around 1.1750.
The president of the European Central Bank, Mario Draghi, is speaking now in Lindau. His speech seems to be more academic than regarding monetary policy.
French manufacturing PMI beat expectations with a score of 55.8 points, above 54.5 estimated and 54.9 seen last time. However, the services PMI slipped from 56 to 55.5, below 55.9 predicted.
Earlier this week, Germany’s ZEW economic sentiment gauge disappointed with 10 points, and this somewhat weighed on the common currency.
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