Euro Under Pressure After Series of Broadly Negative Data

Ohhhhhhhhh the Euro is under..... Pressure!!!! What did i tell you guys about the Euro..we got to watch out...!!!

The euro is under pressure on Thursday after a broad bout of downbeat economic data throughout the morning.

German retail sales fell 1.1% month-over-month in November despite forecasts for a 0.3% increase and prior flat reading, and annual sales were down 2.8% compared to expectations for a 1.7% contraction and prior 1.6% pullback.

Also, German factory orders rose 0.2% month-over-month in November, short of forecasts for a 1.5% increase and partially offsetting a 1.9% decline in October, while annual sales were down 1.8%, faster than calls for a 0.2% decline and prior 8.2% pullback.

Turning to the euro zone, retail sales fell 1.2% month-over-month in November despite forecasts for a flat reading and the prior 0.2% gain, and annual sales contracted 4.0%, faster than forecasts for a 1.9% decline and prior 1.3% decrease.

The only real good news was euro zone business climate index rising to -1.22 in December, above expectations for an increase to -1.43 from -1.53 the month prior, while the economic confidence index expanded to 91.3, also above expectations for a reading of 90.0 and the prior 88.8. Consumer confidence index increased by one point to -16 as expected in December.

EUR/USD was under added pressure throughout the morning after the People’s Bank of China tightened monetary policy by selling three-month bills at a yield of 1.3684%, the first increase in 19 weeks. Traders say the move constitutes monetary policy tightening as it means higher interest rates in the region.

The move also served to strengthen the USD to which the Chinese yuan is tied.

Ahead of the opening Bell on Wall Street, EUR/USD last traded lower by 72 pips at 1.4333 after trading in a range of 1.4299 to 1.4447 so far today. Short term support lies at 1.4258 with resistance at 1.4484.