The Euro
European Headlines and Economic data
Monday:
- IHS MARKIT / BME Germany Manufacturing PMI: Headline PMI ticks down in May despite slower fall in output
- IHS Markit Eurozone Manufacturing PMI: Manufacturing economy continues to contract in May
- Late U.S. session rally may be attributed to U.S. dollar weakness, likely sparked by dovish comments from St. Louis Federal Reserve president James Bullard that an interest rate cut “may be warranted soon”
Tuesday:
- Euro area annual inflation down to 1.2%
- Euro area unemployment at 7.6%
- Villeroy Says ECB Could Be More Active in Boosting Euro’s Role
Wednesday:
- German service sector maintains solid rate of business activity growth in May
- May Final Eurozone Services Business Activity Index: 52.9 vs. 52.8 in April
- Industrial producer prices down by 0.3% in euro area
- Volume of retail trade down by 0.4% in euro area
- EU Sets in Motion Discipline Process Against Italy Over Debt
Thursday:
- German Factory Orders Unexpectedly Gain in Sign of Resilience
- GDP up by 0.4% and employment up by 0.3% in the euro area
- European Central Bank says now plans to leave rates on hold at least through first-half 2020 – Probably less dovish than traders were expecting as there was an argument that rate cuts could be around the corner given the weak inflation and German economic updates in May. This is likely the reason we saw the euro broadly higher on the session.
Friday:
- European Economy Worsens as Germany Industrial Output Plunges
- Bundesbank slashes German growth forecasts on industry’s plight
The Swiss Franc
Swiss Headlines and Economic data
Monday:
- Swiss Consumer Price Index increased by 0.3% in May
- Swiss PMI May 2019: Growth driven by the services sector
- Late U.S. session rally may be attributed to U.S. dollar weakness, likely sparked by dovish comments from St. Louis Federal Reserve president James Bullard that an interest rate cut “may be warranted soon”
Wednesday:
- Private sector employment increased by 27K jobs from April to May according to the ADP National Employment Report – Global risk-off reaction to a very disappointing U.S. jobs update was likely the catalyst for the short-term spike higher in Swiss franc pairs.
Thursday:
- Broad bounce higher with the euro after the ECB monetary policy meeting. Again, the ECB was perceived as less dovish than expected (possibility of rate cuts given the weakening data), but instead spoke of no rate hike considerations until 2020.
Friday:
- The Swiss registered unemployment rate fell to 2.3% in May 2019 from 2.4% in the same period last year
- SNB’s Foreign Currency Reserves Fell in May as Franc Gained
- The U.S. session rally among franc pairs is likely on USD weakness after the disappointing U.S. jobs number
