Germany enjoyed a drop of 15K jobs in March, significantly better than 10K expected. In addition, the unemployment rate fell to 6.4%.
Nevertheless, there are forces stronger than German data today and EUR/USD slips below 1.0750.
As we’ve learned yesterday, the ECB’s QE program is advancing at full speed. And, the upbeat forecasts of the ECB regarding economic growth depend on implementation of the program – no halt is expected despite improvements.
Germany was expected to report another drop in the number of jobless: 10K in March after a slide of 20K in February. The unemployment rate was expected to remain unchanged at 6.5%.
EUR/USD has been on the slide, trading at 1.0755 towards the release. This is mainly due to a stronger USD across the board on the last day of the quarter.
Earlier, German retail sales beat expectations by sliding only 0.5% against 0.9% expected. French consumer spending fell short of predictions with a rise of only 0.1% against 0.3% expected.
Later today we will get the inflation figures from the euro-zone. They are expected to show ongoing deflation in the headline figure and a still positive number in the core figure.
More: Euro Will Fall In A Cyclical Upswing: Why & Where To? – Goldman Sachs
Here is how it looks on the chart:
