Today is a quiet day of data for the Eurozone, however there could be movement as UK inflation data is released this morning. Tomorrow it will be the turn of the EU when the latest Consumer Price Index data will be released. There is expected to be a slight decrease in the rate which could raise concerns as inflation in the EU despite economic growth continues to remain low. The EU economy has been in the midst of a boom of late with production data and business confidence at record high levels, this however has not translated into inflation.
Will the Euro maintain its strength?
The positive movement for the Euro over the past 6-12 months can be put down to other currencies’ weakness as well as the Euro receiving investor confidence. Both Sterling and the US Dollar have given up ground with uncertainty surrounding the currencies from political and economical perspective. However, the Eurozone is not without its issues and this strength is unlikely to continue once there is more certainty surrounding Brexit talks.
Italian Election to Cause Volatility
The leading 5 Star Movement party in Italy run on a Euro opt-out referendum. They have been rebelling for the last few years against the current EU measures and at this year’s election they look set to win. This could start to create major uncertainty as they threaten to no longer contribute the €20bn they already do. This could come as a major blow to the European Union especially with the hole the UK will leave in the budget. There have already been talks from the leaders within the EU that budget contributions will need to go up in order to cover the shortfall.
The M5S leader, Luigi Di Maio plans to bring all the leaders who are disgruntled with EU legislation together to force change. This is unlikely to be received well by EU leaders and there could well be major uncertainty for the Euro if leaders are pushed to the extreme.