The Euro steadied during trading in Asia on Monday after two difficult weeks which saw the Euro lose more than 1% against its American rival, the U.S. Dollar. FX traders are still waiting for new economic data to determine whether or not the Euro bulls will continue to be forced to sit on the sidelines; that data will include this week’s release of Purchasing Managers’ Indices, for the major players in the Eurozone, especially Germany and France, and the Eurozone as a whole. Analysts point out that given the low inflation trend pervading the Eurozone, the input and output prices of the PMI will be especially noted. Also something to be keenly watched will be China’s PMI data which will drive sentiment in the commodity-linked countries.
As reported at 11:38 a.m. (JST) in Tokyo, the EUR/USD was trading at $1.3696 while the EUR/JPY remained close to a 3-month trough, trading at 139.06 Yen. The USD/JPY pair also remained close to a 2-month trough and was trading at 101.54 Yen. The U.S. Dollar Index was relatively flat at 80.052 .DXY, holding onto the 0.2% gains it was able to recover last week.
Indian Rupee Surges on Apparent Modi Victory
While the majority of major currencies remained range-bound, the largest mover in FX was the Indian Rupee which last Friday hit an 11-month peak on the news that the BJP appeared poised to ride into victory with Narendra Modi likely to take over the helm.