EUR/USD continues with its losing ways in the Friday session. Currently, the pair is trading at 1.1353, down 0.19% on the day. On the release front, the sole eurozone indicator is German GfK Consumer Climate, which remained steady at 10.6 points. This edged above the forecast of 10.5 points. In the U.S, all eyes will be Advance GDP for the third quarter, which is expected to post a strong gain of 3.3%. We’ll also get a look at consumer confidence, with UoM Consumer Sentiment expected to drop to 98.9 points.
The euro continues to struggle this week, with the currency dropping 1.3%. On Friday, the euro fell to a low of 1.1352, its lowest level since mid-August. Unless the euro has a strong comeback on Friday, this week’s decline will be one of the sharpest this year. With global stock markets spiraling lower, risk appetite has dampened as investors flock to the U.S dollar at the expense of the euro and other currencies. A rash of geopolitical hotspots has weighed on investor sentiment, including the spike in Italian debt, the Brexit impasse and the U.S-China trade war.
As expected, the ECB maintained its main refinancing rate at a flat 0.00% at its policy meeting on Thursday. ECB President Mario Draghi acknowledged that the turmoil in global markets has raised the risks to the eurozone economy, but reiterated that the ECB remained on track to wind up its asset-purchase program in December. With the euro and European stock markets heading lower this week, Draghi tried to put a positive face on recent developments. He discussed the eurozone’s “broad-based” economic growth and said he was confident that the Italian government would reach an agreement with the European Commission, which has rejected Italy’s budget since it raises the country’s deficit. However, Drahgi acknowledged that the eurozone economy has softened, and also noted the risks from the global trade war and the volatile political climate in Italy.
