With a lack of major catalysts this week, price action for both the euro and franc was mixed this week.
Counter currency flows seems to have been the main driver overall, but the euro did come out net positive for the week, likely on improving economic updates and growing optimism as Europe opens the economy back up.
The Euro
European Headlines and Economic data
Monday:
German factory new orders up 10.4% m/m (seasonally adjusted)
Euro zone investor morale up in July but recovery could stall: Sentix
Eurozone productivity decline moderates in June
Modest drop in Eurozone construction activity in June as COVID-19 measures ease
In May 2020, volume of retail trade up by 17.8% in euro area; Up by 16.4% in EU
EU current account surplus €59.9 bn; €3.1 bn deficit for trade in services
Tuesday:
European Commission cuts economic forecast to -8.7% in 2020
German Industrial Production in May 2020: +7.8% m/m (seasonally adjusted)
French Trade Balance deficit increase to -7.1B euro in May 2020
Italian retail trade index rose by 24.3% m/m (seaonally adjusted) in May 2020
ECB’s Costa calls for TARP-style bad debt fund to relieve banks
Thursday:
German exports in May 2020: +9.0% m/m seasonally adjusted
Friday:
In May 2020, French manufacturing output bounced back (+22.0%)
European markets close higher as Italian and French industrial data surprises
The Swiss Franc
Swiss Headlines and Economic data
There were no major headlines / data from Switzerland other than the latest unemployment update (Swiss unemployment rate fell from 3.4% in May 2020 to 3.2% in June) which was a non-catalyst for franc price action.
Price action in Swiss franc pairs was also very mixed and choppy, suggesting counter currency influences were the biggest drivers for the franc this week.
Global risk sentiment was less of a factor than usual, evidenced by Thursday’s strong turn in risk sentiment towards negative but no uniform move higher in the franc against the major risk currencies.