Being traded at its lowest level since 12 November, the euro has fallen below the1.17 region this Friday, amid concerns about the increase in cases ofcovid-19 in Europe and the impact of restrictive measures on the bloc’s economy.Meanwhile, the EU Leaders’ Summit continued today, with discussions taking placerespect to the epidemiological situation of Covid-19, the situation in the Eastern Mediterranean andrelations with Russia.
Near its highest point in 4 months reached in the previous session, the DXY indexwas up, above 92.7 and on the way to a weekly gain of 0.8%, supported bybetter-than-expected unemployment insurance claim data, as well asan upward revision in GDP, which reinforced hopes for a recoverystrong economic growth for the US
Gold rebounded above the USD 1730 an ounce region, however on the way toa weekly drop, amid a stronger dollar and a new high in treasury yieldsfrom the USA. The dollar has been the preferred safe asset of late because of hopesof a strong recovery in the North American economy.
Wall Street had its indexes up today, with the Dow Jones rising more than 150 pointsand the S&P 500 about 0.7%. On the other hand, Nasdaq reversed recent gains to benegotiated close to its opening. Both Dow and S&P were on their way torecord weekly gains, while the Nasdaq is expected to close the week downwards
In Europe, the indices held recent gains to close higher, with the DAX 30increasing by 0.9% and other important indices between 0.7% and 1.1%, whileinvestors try to focus on the global economic recovery despite the increase in casescovid-19 and the slow pace of vaccinations in Europe
The Ifo Business Climate Indicator for Germany rose to 96.6 in March 2021, thehighest level since June 2019 and well above expectations of 93.2. The companiesbecame optimistic about developments in the coming months (100.4 vs95.0 in February), while their assessments of the current situation have also beenbetter (93.0 vs 90.6). Sentiment among manufacturers improved steadily (11.2 vs2.7), since export expectations have exploded due to strong demand fromUSA and China, while among service providers it has also increasedsignificantly (6.5 vs -2.2). Entrepreneur confidence among buildersalso returned in positive territory (2.3 vs -2.8) and among traders it becameless negative (-1.4 vs -14.6)
