fund

Forex – Early PMIs Lift Euro After Balanced Fed Minutes


© Reuters.

Investing.com — The euro turned higher against the dollar in early trading in Europe Thursday, as purchasing manager indices from and signalled that the euro-zone economy may be bottoming out after its slowdown at the end of 2018.

At 03:30 AM ET (0830 GMT), the was at $1.1354, just below a two-week high against the dollar, after PMI readings that outstripped expectations – even though Germany’s manufacturing sector appeared to contract in February.

The that measures the greenback against a basket of major currencies was at 96.297, close to a two-week low. That’s despite a broadly balanced set of from the Federal Reserve’s last policy meeting that indicated that interest rates could still rise later in the year if the current uncertainty over the economy clears.

“The dollar drew some lift as the minutes appeared to have appeased market participants who were clinging to views that the Fed would hike rates one more time this year – but all in all, the minutes were in line with what the Fed said in January,” said Daisuke Karakama, chief market economist at Mizuho Bank.

However, the and the were down against the British pound, after an upbeat statement following a meeting between Prime Minister Theresa May and European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker.

The statement revived hopes that a ‘no-deal Brexit’ can be avoided at the end of next month, despite increasing signs of political disarray in the U.K. Reports suggest that May is coming under increasing pressure to push back the March 29 date when the U.K. is slated to leave the EU.

Both the ruling Conservatives and the opposition Labour Party have been hit this week by defections from their more centrist lawmakers, most of whom want the U.K. to stay in the EU. Neither party has changed its stance on Brexit immediately as a result, but the splintering appears to make the arithmetic of getting a parliamentary majority for any sort of Brexit deal more complicated.

The risks of a no-deal Brexit were spelled out by Fitch Ratings Agency late Wednesday, which put the U.K.’s credit rating on “negative watch” – a preliminary step to a downgrade – saying that at a disorderly Brexit risks a severe recession.

Elsewhere overnight, the fell some 1% against the greenback after reports of a ban on coal imports by one of China’s biggest ports. The report illustrated the sensitivity of the Aussie to Chinese demand for its commodities. The also edged lower after the report.

And the South African hit a one-week high, recouping the losses it made Wednesday after the government announced a $4.9 bailout for stricken power company Eskom. The bailout was smaller than feared but comes at a time when the budget deficit is at its widest in 10 years.

-Reuters contributed to this report.

Disclaimer: Fusion Media would like to remind you that the data contained in this website is not necessarily real-time nor accurate. All CFDs (stocks, indexes, futures) and Forex prices are not provided by exchanges but rather by market makers, and so prices may not be accurate and may differ from the actual market price, meaning prices are indicative and not appropriate for trading purposes. Therefore Fusion Media doesn`t bear any responsibility for any trading losses you might incur as a result of using this data.

Fusion Media or anyone involved with Fusion Media will not accept any liability for loss or damage as a result of reliance on the information including data, quotes, charts and buy/sell signals contained within this website. Please be fully informed regarding the risks and costs associated with trading the financial markets, it is one of the riskiest investment forms possible.





READ SOURCE

Leave a Reply

This website uses cookies. By continuing to use this site, you accept our use of cookies.