We saw mostly choppy price action, but it was an overall positive week for both the euro and the Swiss franc, likely supported by a round of net positive economic and sentiment updates from Europe.
The Euro
European Headlines and Economic data
Monday:
French Business conditions continue to improve with another marked rise in output
Final Eurozone Manufacturing PMI at 51.8 in July (Flash: 51.1, June Final: 47.4)
Spanish Manufacturing PMI: 53.5 in July vs. 49.0 in June
Tuesday:
Spain logs first fall in unemployment since February
Industrial producer prices up by +0.7% in both euro area and EU in June m/m
Wednesday:
Spain’s service sector PMI: 51.9 in July vs. 50.2 in June
France sees sharp rise in services PMI: 57.3 in July vs. 50.7 in June
German business activity rebounds strongly in July
Eurozone Services Business Activity Index: 54.7 in July vs. 48.3 in June
Thursday:
German Manufacturing June 2020: new orders up 27.9% m/m (seasonally adjusted)
Eurozone construction downturn slows further: 48.9 in July vs. 48..3 in June
Friday:
German Exports in June 2020: +14.9% on May 2020
German industrial production in June 2020: +8.9% m/m
In June 2020, French manufacturing continued to recover (+14.4%)
Italy posts 6.2 billion euro trade surplus in June
The Swiss Franc
Swiss Headlines and Economic data
Monday:
The Swiss consumer price index (CPI) fell by 0.2% in July 2020 m/m to 101.2 points
Swiss PMI July 2020: The industrial PMI also made up for the slump
Broad weakness for both the euro and franc during the U.S. session, likely on positive risk sentiment flows (broad U.S. equity strength (once again lead by the tech sector) and/or positive coronavirus news (Eli Lilly starts late-stage study of coronavirus drug in nursing homes).
Tuesday:
Swiss consumer sentiment makes a strong recovery but remains below average at -12 in July
Wednesday:
The franc and the euro were net winners on the session. On top of the positive Services PMI updates from Europe, we saw some global risk-off vibes during the U.S. session, sparked by the much weaker-than-expected U.S. jobs read from ADP.
Thursday:
Weakness for the EUR and CHF during the U.S. trading session may be due to risk-on sentiment after the better-than-expected U.S. unemployment claims, or hopes of a new U.S. stimulus deal before the end of the week.
Friday:
The Swiss franc was broadly higher during the U.S. session, possibly on positive German data, but more likely due to broad negative risk sentiment. This may have been driven by rising geopolitical tensions between the U.S. and China, and/or the eventual failure of the U.S. government to come up with a stimulus package before the end of the week.