German Consumer Sentiment Stagnates, Weighing on the EUR

Following German business sentiment figures on Monday, German consumer confidence was in focus this morning.

Consumer Sentiment

For August, the GfK Consumer Confidence Index held steady at -0.30. Economists had forecast a decline to -2.0.

According to the GfK survey,

• Following a 10-year high, economic expectations moderated in July, falling by 3.8 points to 54.6.
• Income expectations slipped by 5.1 points to 29 points, which was still up 10 points year-on-year.
• By contrast, the propensity to buy was on the rise, increasing by 1.4 points to 14.8. In spite of the rise, consumption propensity was still down by almost 28 points year-on-year.

Market Impact

Ahead of today’s consumer sentiment figures, the EUR had risen from a pre-stat low $1.18125 to a pre-stat high $1.18276.

In response to today’s stats, the EUR rose to a post-stat and current day high $1.18306 before falling to a post-stat and current day low $1.17919.

At the time of writing, the EUR was down by 0.20% to $1.17923.

Next Up

U.S trade data ahead of the all-important FED monetary policy decision and press conference…