The euro and British pound ended Wednesday on a mixed note, losing against the ultra-strong commodity dollars but gaining versus the low-yielding Japanese yen, US dollar, and Swiss franc. Looking to EUR/USD and GBP/USD, both pairs back off from key trendlines, as EUR/USD resistance came into play at 1.3340 while GBP/USD resistance loomed at 1.4815. Meanwhile, there wasn’t much in the way of economic data for either region, though Euro-zone retail PMI and economic confidence reflected notable improvements.
On Thursday, UK Nationwide House Prices are forecasted to have fallen by 1.2 percent during April, which would bring the annual rate down to -15.8 percent from -15.7 percent. This data doesn’t tend to be hugely market-moving for the British pound, the news could counter arguments that the UK housing collapse is not over yet. Economic news from the Euro-zone may be similarly disappointing, as the German unemployment change is forecasted to have risen for the sixth straight month in April by 65,000, pushing the unemployment rate to 8.2 percent from 8.1 percent. Likewise, the Euro-zone unemployment rate is expected to have risen to more than five-year high of 8.7 percent in March from 8.5 percent. Adding to the mix, Eurostat’s inflation estimate for the region may have edged up to an annual rate of 0.7 percent in April from 0.6 percent, but even this would leave CPI well below the European Central Bank’s 2.0 percent target.
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