RTTN: European Currency Falls Against Greenback, Pound And Yen
(RTTNews) - During early European deals on Thursday, the European currency edged down against the US dollar, the British pound and the Japanese yen as the Euro-zone jobless rate rose to its highest level in more than 10 years.
The seasonally adjusted jobless rate for the Eurozone inched up to 9.6% in August from 9.5% in July, Eurostat said today. That was the highest rate since March 1999. It also matched economists' expectations. A year ago, the rate of unemployment was 7.6% in August.
There were 15.165 million people out of work in the euro area in August.
The jobless rate for EU27 stood at 9.1% in August, up from 9% in July. That was the highest rate since March 2004.
Eurozone manufacturing sector improved more than initially estimated in September, a final report from Markit Economics said today.
The final Markit Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index or PMI climbed to a sixteen month high of 49.3 in September from 48.2 in August. The index also stood above the flash estimate of 49.
Against the US dollar, the European currency edged down during early deals on Thursday. At 2:15 am ET, the euro-dollar pair touched a 2-day low of 1.4552, compared to 1.4642 hit late New York Wednesday. The next downside target level for the pair is seen around 1.444.
The single currency lost ground after hitting a 2-day high of 0.9180 against the British pound at 12:35 am ET Thursday. The euro-pound pair is currently trading at 0.9099 with 0.902 seen as the next target level. The pair closed Wednesday's North American session at 0.9162.
Against the Swiss franc, the 16-nation currency traded higher during Thursday's early deals. At 6:05 am ET, the euro-franc pair reached a high of 1.5195, compared to Wednesday's closing value of 1.5172. If the pair gains further, 1.520 is seen as the next target level.
The Swiss Franc declined despite an economic report showed that the Swiss SVME purchasing managers' index or PMI rose for the seventh month in September, suggesting growth in the private sector output, data released by Credit Suisse said today.
The PMI climbed to 54.3 in September from 50.2 in August. Economists had forecast a reading of 51. The PMI has remained above the 50-point growth threshold for two successive months. The index last exceeded this level in June 2008, before Switzerland slipped into recession.
The euro that closed Wednesday's New York deals at 131.36 against the Japanese yen declined to 131.02 at 6:10 am ET Thursday. On the downside, 129.8 is seen as the next target level for the pair. Sentiment among large manufacturers in Japan was better in the third quarter of 2009, the Bank of Japan said today in its quarterly Tankan Survey, gaining for the second straight quarter.
The index measuring sentiment posted a score of -33 - in line with forecasts for a score of -32 following the -48 mark in the second quarter. The large manufacturers' outlook index for Q4 came in at -21 - better than forecasts for a -26 following the -30 posted in the previous three months.
Earlier in the day, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry said that retail sales in Japan were down 1.8 percent on year in August,. That was better than forecasts for a 2.4 percent annual contraction after the revised 2.4 percent fall in July.
On a monthly basis, retail sales climbed 1.0 percent - again beating forecasts that had called for a 0.3 percent gain following the revised 0.5 percent monthly expansion in July.
Traders now look forward to the New York session, in which the the U.S. personal income and spending for August, weekly jobless claims for the week ended September 26th, ISM manufacturing data for September, pending home sales and the construction spending reports for August have been slated for release.
