Euro to US Dollar Exchange Rate Today: EUR/USD Steady on Data Releases

January 29, 2015 - Written by David Woodsmith

STORY LINK Euro to US Dollar Exchange Rate Today: EUR/USD Steady on Data Releases

The Euro held steady against the US Dollar and at times edged higher as the markets continued to monitor the negotiations between the New Greek government and its creditors and as data out of Germany and the wider Eurozone offered support.

There was mixed data out of the Eurozone’s largest economy as one report showed that unemployment fell to its lowest level since the nation’s reunification in 1990 and the other showed that consumer prices slid into deflation territory.

According to the unemployment report, the number of Germans out of work fell by 9,000 in January after seasonal variations. Economists had been expecting a decline of 10,000. Despite being less than expected the overall unemployment rate fell from December’s figure of 6.6% to 6.5%, the lowest level since 1990.

Analysts said that the fourth consecutive monthly drop demonstrated the resilience of Germany's jobs market.

"The economic slowdown last summer, which Russia had triggered with its aggression against Ukraine in the spring, has not had any significant impact on German jobs growth. Nor has the introduction of the new national minimum wage on January 1, 2015," they added.

Preliminary consumer price data in Germany showed that consumer prices fell by 1% from the preceding month in January, a sharper decline than the 0.8% drop forecast by economists. The figures did not have much of an impact as expected due to economists pricing in the drop and taking comfort from the European Central Banks announced €60 billion a month government bond buying programme. Inflation in the nation is expected to improve over the coming months.

“Looking ahead, energy effects are likely to keep German inflation negative for the next six months, but for now we are not forecasting a prolonged and widespread bout of deflation,” Jennifer McKeown, of Capital Economics, said.

Also supporting the Euro was data, which showed that sentiment improved across the 19-member currency bloc last month. Consumers were shown to be more confident in Spain, Italy and Germany. Sentiment in France however fell more than forecast.

According to the European Commission, overall confidence amongst Eurozone businesses, increased by 0.6 points to a total of 101.2 in January.

‘The rise in the European Sentiment Index was caused by marked increases in consumer and retail trade confidence, only partly offset by declines in confidence in the services and construction sectors,’ the European Union said in a statement.

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