Euro Zone trade deficit shrinks in June. Euro mixed in Forex Trade. | CountingPips Forex Blog

August 18, 2008 - Forex Economic News

Euro Zone trade deficit shrinks in June. Euro mixed in Forex Trade.

The euro zone's international trade deficit shrank in June according to data from Eurostat. The euro zone's 15 countries that use the euro currency had a trade deficit of 0.1 billion euros in June after a revised deficit of 3.9 billion euros in May. The euro zone had registered a trade surplus of 7.5 billion euros in June of 2007. The deficit surpassed market expectations as market forecasts had expected a surplus of approximately 1.2 billion euros. The seasonally Euro Fx Trading adjusted deficit for the month of June was 3.0 billion euros verses a seasonally adjusted deficit of 1.0 billion euros in May. Seasonally adjusted imports increased by 2.9 percent while and exports increased by 1.4 percent in June.

Also out of Europe today, Swiss Retail sales increased by 0.7 percent in June when compared to June 2007 but increased less than expected according to a report by the Swiss Federal Statistical Office. The annual rate of June retail sales was forecasted to increase by 3.3 percent after an annual rise of 7.4 percent in May. A business sentiment survey out of France was released today and showed that sentiment edged down slightly in July. The Bank of France sentiment survey fell from a score of 95 in June to a score of 92 in July. Economic forecasts had predicted that the score would register a 94 for the month.

The euro has been mixed in forex trading with today being a quiet day on the news front. The euro has shown a little gain verses the U.S. dollar, trading around 1.4730 while also showing a small gain today verses the British pound sterling at 0.7888. The euro has been lower verses the Japanese yen at 162.09, down from 162.32 at the open of trading on Sunday. Verses the Canadian dollar, euro has increased to 1.5641 from 1.5557 at opening on Sunday.

EUR/USD Chart - The euro has started the week off with a light gain today against the U.S. dollar after closing lower last week for the fifth consecutive week(4Hour Chart).

Forex Chart

tags: euro deficit, swiss retail sales, france sentiment, euro fx trading

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