Euro Climbs Amid Risk Appetite
May 19 2017 - 1:14AM
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The euro advanced against its most major rivals in the early
European session on Friday, as European shares recovered from heavy
losses driven by U.S. political turmoil and data showed that German
producer prices increased at the fastest pace since late 2011.
The Justice Department's appointment of former FBI chief Robert
Mueller on Wednesday to probe Russian interference in the election
helped to assuage investor concerns over the Trump
administration.
Also, the Trump administration took the first step toward
renegotiating the North American Free Trade Agreement, helping ease
concerns over the president's ability to deliver on his economic
agenda.
Oil extended gains for the third straight session on optimism
that oil producing nations will agree on an extension of output
deal, which expires in June.
Figures from Destatis showed that producer prices grew by
more-than-expected 3.4 percent year-on-year in April, faster than
the 3.1 percent rise in March. This was the biggest increase since
December 2011. Economists had forecast 3.2 percent increase.
On a monthly basis, producer prices climbed 0.4 percent after
staying flat in March. Prices were forecast to rise 0.2
percent.
Greece's lawmakers approved a reforms package that includes
pension cuts and tax hikes as demanded by the country's lenders in
return for unlocking another tranche of bailout funds and to start
discussions over debt relief.
The parliament nod came ahead of the Eurogroup meeting on May 22
when euro area finance ministers would consider disbursement of the
bailout funds and discuss debt relief.
German bond yields rose, with the benchmark yield on the 10-year
note rising 0.35 percent. Yields move inversely to bond prices.
The euro showed mixed performance in the Asian session. While
the currency rose against the greenback and the franc, it held
steady against the pound and the yen.
The euro rose to 1.1149 against the greenback, compared to
1.1101 hit late New York Thursday. Continuation of the euro's
uptrend may see it challenging resistance around the 1.13 zone.
The euro that ended Thursday's trading at 1.0879 against the
franc edged up to 1.0905. If the euro-franc pair extends gain, 1.10
is likely seen as its next resistance level.
The single currency climbed to a 2-day high of 124.46 against
the Japanese yen from Thursday's closing value of 123.74. On the
upside, the euro is likely to locate resistance around the 126.00
mark.
The 19-nation currency strengthened to 1.6178 against the kiwi,
a level not seen since June 2016. The euro is poised to target
resistance around the 1.63 area.
Figures from Statistics New Zealand showed that New Zealand's
net migration increased in April from a year ago, driven by more
migrant arrivals and fewer migrant departures.
In the year to April 30, the country recorded a net migration of
71,885, up from 68,110 in the same period of 2016. At the same
time, it remained almost in line with the 71,932 in March 2017.
The single currency bounced off to 1.4988 against the aussie and
1.5146 against the loonie, from its early low of 1.4935 and a 2-day
low of 1.5089, respectively. On the upside, 1.51 and 1.53 are
possibly seen as the next resistance levels for the euro against
the aussie and the loonie, respectively.
On the flip side, the euro pared some of its early gains against
the pound with the pair trading at 0.8575, down from an early high
of 0.8594. The euro is likely to target 0.845 as the next support
level.
The latest Quarterly International Trade Outlook published by
the British Chambers of Commerce and DHL showed that British
manufacturers and service providers were more confident that their
turnover and profitability would increase in coming twelve
months.
The BCC/DHL Trade Confidence Index rose 5.5 percent in the first
quarter from the prior three months. The indicator climbed 9.06
percent from the previous year to 126.55, standing at its second
highest level since records began in 2004.
Looking ahead, at 7:00 am ET, the European Central Bank member
Benoît Cœuré participates in the Geneva conference on the world
economy organized by the International Center for Monetary and
Banking Studies in Geneva, Switzerland.
The European Central Bank member Vítor Constâncio gives keynote
speech on "Banking union and capital markets union: interaction and
synergies" at the Joint ECB/European Commission Conference on
Financial Market Integration in Brussels, Belgium, at 8:00 am
ET.
In the New York session, Canada consumer prices for April and
retail sales for March as well as Eurozone preliminary consumer
sentiment index for May will be out.
At 9:15 am ET, St. Louis Fed President James Bullard speaks on
the U.S. economy and monetary policy before the Association for
Corporate Growth - St. Louis Chapter.
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