Euro tumbles as Central Bank contemplates further Quantitative Easing

The euro tumbled to three-week lows against both sterling and the US dollar on Thursday, after European Central Bank President Mario Draghi “hinted” at the possibility of further quantitative easing measures before the end of the year. The single currency struggled as soon as ECB President Draghi started speaking. Interest rates are being kept at an all-time low for the euro at 0.05% but Draghi also stated that the central bank will “re-examine” its monetary policy in December, therefore fuelling expectations of a further loosening of monetary policy by the year end.

To end the week, we expect a whole raft of Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) data from across Europe; firstly France, then Germany; and finally figures for the Eurozone as a whole. The Eurozone PMI is forecast to drop off slightly, from 53.9 to 53.4, but we wait with anticipation to see what other insights come from the country-specific results.