Euro weaker on data

Story link: Euro weaker on data

The euro weakened versus the US dollar Wednesday after new data showed that business investment and retail sales in the Eurozone both declined in July, while the yen saw gains as investors once again backed away from risky currency trades.

According to the new numbers, business investment in the Eurozone dropped by 1.2 percent while retail sales dropped 0.4 percent in July as household spending declined by 0.2 percent.

At the same time, the US dollar was helped by unexpected gains in factory orders, which were up 1.3 percent in July according to a report from the Commerce Department.

The report said that orders for commercial aircraft led the way, with a gain of 28.1 percent.

In late morning trade in New York, the greenback traded at $1.4452 to the euro while the shared currency was worth ¥156.7590 and it took ¥108.4650 to buy a dollar.

The pound, meanwhile, declined on new data from Nationwide Building Society which showed that British consumer confidence remained at a four-year low in August for a second month in a row.

Additionally, the Chartered Institute of Purchasing and Supply’s service index was up to 49.2 in August from 47.4 in July, indicating that the service sector remained in contraction despite some improvement.

At shortly before Noon in New York, the pound traded at 81.42p to the euro while it took $1.7749 to buy a pound.

With the declines, both the European Central Bank and the Bank of England are expected to hold interest rates steady at 4.25 percent and 5 percent respectively when they meet separately tomorrow.

The South African rand saw declines as commodities prices continued to fall, with the rand trading at R7.8885 to the US dollar and at R11.402 to the euro.

Commodities make up over half of South Africa’s exports.