In European trade, the common currency Euro recovered from recently struck 2-year troughs versus the U.S. Dollar. Analysts caution that current sentiment could shift, however, as investors await tomorrow’s release of a slew of U.S. economic data which could further highlight the differing paths taken by the world’s key central banks, specifically tightening at the Federal Reserve and easing among the majority of the other major banks. The possibility of a snap election in Greece which may see the ruling party fall from favor is also causing some concern; recent opinion polls show that party of Antonis Samaris, the current Prime Minister, is lagging behind the Syriza Party which is against the Greek bailout; snap elections may be called on December 23 and again on December 29.
The EUR/USD pair is trading at $1.2254, a gain of 0.3% in today’s trading and edging away from last Friday’s low of $1.22205; this year, the Euro has lost nearly 11% of its value versus the greenback. The outlook for the Euro next year remains weak given that the ECB is committed to restoring the Eurozone economy through government bond purchases.
Aussie Dollar Edges Higher
In Australia, the AUD/USD pair was up nearly 0.3% and trading at 0.8174 before easing back currently to 0.8148, still a gain of 0.14%. The Aussie is benefitting from the slight recovery in Brent crude oil prices, which have gained nearly 7% since last week.