Euro declines after mixed economic data from Europe
The Australian dollar declined today after a series of weak economic data from China and Australia. In Australia, the wage price index remained unchanged at 2.3% in the first quarter. On a quarterly basis, the wage price index rose by 0.5%, which was lower than the expected 0.6%. In China, in April, retail sales rose by 7.2%, which was lower than the expected 8.6%. Industrial production rose by 5.4%, which was lower than the expected 6.5% while the fixed asset investment rose by 6.1%.
The euro declined after data from Germany showed that the economy slowed down in the first quarter. In the quarter, the economy expanded by 0.6%, which was lower than the expected 0.7%. On a QoQ basis, the economy expanded by 0.4%. In France, the CPI rose by 1.3% in April, which was better than the consensus estimates of 1.2%. The harmonized consumer prices rose at an annualized rate of 1.5%, higher than the expected 1.4%. In the European Union, the employment change rose by just 0.3% in the first quarter, which was lower than the expected 1.2%.
In the United States, the country released weak economic numbers. In April, core retail sales increased by just 0.1%, which was lower than the expected 0.7%. The headline retail sales declined by -0.2% after rising by 1.7% in March. The retail control was unmoved. On a positive note, the New York Empire State manufacturing index increased to 17.80, which was better than the expected 8.20. Meanwhile, in Canada, the headline CPI rose to the central bank’s target of 2.0%. The core CPI rose by 1.5%, which was worse than the expected 1.8%.
EUR/USD
The EUR/USD pair continued the declines started yesterday. The pair has moved from a high of 1.1262 to a low of 1.1192. On the hourly chart, the price is along the lower line of the Bollinger Bands. It is also below the 50-day and 25-day moving averages and below the important resistance shown. The commodities channel index has moved much lower than the oversold level. The pair could continue moving lower to the important support of 1.1150.
AUD/USD
The Australian dollar declined to an intraday low of 0.6914. This was the lowest level since December 2018. This price is below the 25-day and 50-day moving averages while the RSI has dropped below 30. The dots of the Parabolic SAR are above the current price. The signal line of the MACD is below the neutral level. The pair is likely to continue moving lower as the US and China continue their trade skirmish.
NZD/USD
The NZD/USD continued to decline to a low of 0.6555. This was almost to the lowest level since November last year. On the four-hour chart, the pair is moving close to the oversold level of 30. The price is also below the 50-day and 25-day moving averages. The Force Index has remained relatively unmoved. As with the Australian dollar, the pair could continue moving lower.