Pre-Holiday Stats Deliver a EUR Support

It was another busy day on the economic calendar on Thursday. German retail sales and service sector PMI figures for March were in focus this morning.

German Retail Sales

In the month of February, retail sales rose by 1.2% to partially reverse a 4.5% slide in January. Economists had forecast a 2% increase.

According to Destatis,

• In comparison to February 2020, the month before the COVID-19 outbreak in German, turnover was 5.4% lower in February 2021.
• Retail sales were down 9% on the same month a year earlier.

Manufacturing Sector PMIs

Both Spain and Italy reported a pickup in manufacturing sector activity.

In March, Spain’s manufacturing PMI rose from 52.9 to 56.9, it’s highest level since Dec-2006, with Italy’s PMI increasing from 56.9 to 59.8. The March jump signaled the steepest improvement in manufacturing conditions for 21 years.

Economists had forecasted Spain’s PMI to rise to 56.0 and for Italy’s to rise to 59.8.

For France, Germany, and the Eurozone, finalized manufacturing PMI for March were also in focus.

The French Manufacturing PMI rose from 56.1 to 59.3, which was up from a prelim 58.8.

Germany’s Manufacturing PMI increased from 60.7 to an all-time high 66.6, which was in line with prelim.

The Eurozone

In March, the Eurozone’s Manufacturing PMI increased from 57.9 to 62.5, which was up from a prelim 62.4.

According to the March survey,

• There were record increases in output, new orders, exports, and purchasing activity.
• Supply side delays drove input costs up at the sharpest pace in a decade.

By country, Germany and the Netherlands ranked 1^st and 2^nd with record high PMIs.

Austria ranked 3^rd with a 39-month high 63.4. Italy and France saw PMIs hit 252-month and 246-month highs.

Greece sat at the bottom of the table with a 13-month high 51.8.

Market Impact

Ahead of the key stats of the day, the EUR had risen to a pre-release high $1.17329 before falling to a pre-stat low $1.17136.

In response to today’s data released, the EUR had fallen to a pre-stat and current day low $1.17127.

At the time of writing, the EUR was up by 0.07% to $1.17381.

Up Next

U.S initial jobless claims and ISM Manufacturing PMI numbers. Finalized Markit survey Manufacturing PMI numbers are also due out but should have a muted impact on the majors.