Euro advances further

The euro has broken decisively through the $1.10 level against the dollar mentioned a few times this week and is now trading at $1.11, the strongest it has been since March when COVID-19 really began to take hold in Europe. The single currency is also knocking on the door of 90p against the pound, which in turn is hovering just above $1.23 against the dollar

European equity markets closed higher for a fifth consecutive session yesterday, though they are down a little at the start of play today, while German 10-year bond yields were little enough changed at just under -0.45%

The Economic Sentiment Indicator for the Euro Area (published by the European Commission) rose slightly in May after falling sharply in March-April, with an improvement in confidence in industry helping to offset a further deterioration in sentiment in the services sector

The US economy contracted by 1.2% quarter-on-quarter in the first quarter of this year according to the 2nd estimate of GDP published yesterday, broadly confirming the initial estimate, while the number of new jobless claimants rose again last week, by just over 2 million to bring the cumulative increase since March to 40 million

Data due today include CPI inflation in the Euro Area and PCE inflation and consumer spending in the US