- Euro (EUR) extends gains for third day
- German CPI 0.8% MoM in line with expectations
- US Dollar (USD) at 2 week low on safe haven outflows
- US CPI & Fed Chair Powell in focus
The Euro US Dollar (EUR/USD) exchange rate is pushing cautiously higher on Wednesday extending gains for a third straight session. The pair settled 0.6% higher on Tuesday at US$1.2117 the high of the day. At 09:15 UTC, EUR/USD trades +0.2% at US$1.2138 a weekly high.
The Euro is being supported by a broadly upbeat mood in the market. The prospect of US stimulus is overshadowing concerns over the slow vaccine rollout in Europe.
German inflation in January confirmed 0.8% increase month on month, in line with the preliminary reading and up from December’s 0.5%. On an annual basis inflation grew at 1% an improvement from December but still some way off the European Central Bank’s 2% target.
Italian politics are in focus today as Mario Draghi concluded the second round of talks with Italy’s leading political parties in an attempt to form a government. Voting is expected to take place within parties over the coming days with results expected potentially by the end of the week.
It is not only the Euro that has benefitted, Italian stocks and bonds have rallied since Draghi accepted a mandate to form a new government.
The US Dollar continues to fall lower, trading near two week lows as optimism over the global economic recovery hits demand for the safe haven.
Yesterday data revealed that US layoffs eased, and job openings picked up on December. US JOLTS job openings data surprised to the upside jumping by 74,000 in December to 6.6 million, beating analysts’ expectations of 6.4 million.
Looking ahead US inflation, as measured by the consumer price index will be in focus. Analysts are expecting inflation to increase 1.5% year on year in January, up from 1.4% in December. On a monthly basis inflation is expected to ease slightly to a still respectable 0.3% down from 0.4%.
Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell is due to speak later.
