The German IFO business climate rose to 106.2 points. This is the headline number. It was expected to tick up from 105.9 to 106.1 points. The “current assessment†component carried expectations of a rise from 109.4 to 110 and the actual figure is 110.1 points. The “expectations†figure was expected to remain unchanged at 102.5 but it dropped to 102.4 points. In addition to this release, the euro-zone published the M3 Money Supply figure, and it was expected to rise from 2.9% to 3%, but it disappointed by dropping to 2.3%.
EUR/USD was ticking higher earlier in the day, rising to 1.3230. It is now sliding to 1.3215. The moves are quite limited.
IFO is Germany’s No. 1 Think Tank. Another organization, ZEW, reported a small drop in business confidence last week.
Earlier, Spain reported a much needed drop in the unemployment rate: from 27.2% to 26.3%. No change was expected.
For more on the euro, see the EUR/USD forecast.
