EUR/USD: Euro Declines to Three-Week Low

The euro US dollar exchange rate exchange rate is extending losses for a third straight day on Monday, explains Fiona Cincotta of Currency Live.

The pair closed the previous week approximately flat after gaining ground across the earlier part of the week and declining in the latter part. The pair settled on Friday at US $1.2218. At 09:15 UTC, EUR/USD trades -0.3% at US$1.2182.

The euro struggled to find buyers at the end of last week, despite an improvement in the headline unemployment figure. Data revealed that the unemployment rate ticked lower to 8.3% in November, down from 8.4%. However, digging deeper into the numbers, unemployment in the young shot concerningly higher.

This week sees a quiet start on the economic calendar with no major releases expected on Monday. This means that the euro is likely to be driven by sentiment.

Looking ahead across the week, industrial production data for the bloc is due on Wednesday and Germany’s GDP on Thursday. Covid cases and vaccine news will also be closely monitored.

The US dollar pushed higher at the end of last week after the US non-farm payroll report missed expectations by a wide margin, boosting expectations of additional fiscal stimulus from Joe Biden and his Democratic government.

The closely watched report from the US Labour department revealed that -140,000 posts were lost in December, against the 71,000 job gains that analysts were expecting. This was the first decline in jobs since April. The unemployment rate remained unchanged at 6.7%, below the 6.8% forecast.

The US Dollar Index, which measures the greenback versus six major peers now trades around 1% higher than the almost three-year low hit last week.

After prolonged weakness investors are now starting to price in economic recovery spurring inflation on the black of trillions in extra Covid relief spending from Joe Biden.

To learn more about Fiona Cincotta, please visit CurrencyLive.com.