The euro rose on Friday, despite the weak inflationary pressure in Germany, which in April of this year turned out to be worse than experts' forecasts, signaling a possible slowdown in economic growth in the 2nd quarter of this year.
According to the Federal Bureau of Statistics of Germany, the preliminary CPI in May 2019 increased by 0.2% compared with the previous month and by 1.4% compared with the same period of the previous year. Let me remind you that back in April of this year, annual inflation was 2.0%. Economists had expected the CPI in May to show an increase of 0.3% compared with the previous month and 1.5% compared with the same period of the previous year.
The EU harmonized consumer price index rose in May by 0.3% compared with the previous month and by 1.3% compared with the same period of the previous year. The data differed only slightly from economists' forecasts.
Given the fact that the report was preliminary, many traders ignored it.
Data on the growth of expenditures of American households provided only temporary support for the dollar, as it became clear that the upward momentum was gradually slowing down.
According to a report by the US Department of Commerce, personal consumption expenditures rose 0.3% in April compared with March. Economists had expected personal spending in April rose by 0.2%.
Incomes of Americans also rose in April of this year, which is a good signal for the economy, as consumer spending is the driving force of the American economy. According to the report, personal incomes in April rose by 0.5% compared with the previous month, while economists had expected their growth to be only 0.3%.
The weak US household sentiment report put pressure on the US dollar closer to the close of the North American session.
Increased trade tensions affected the data of the University of Michigan, according to which, the final index of consumer sentiment in May 2019 amounted to 100 points, against 97.2 points in April. Let me remind you that the leading index for May was 102.4 points. Economists had expected the final index value to be 101 points.
As for the technical picture of the EURUSD pair, a further upward correction will directly depend on the support of 1.1160. If buyers of risky assets manage to push off from it, then we can expect continued growth of the trading instrument and an update of the maximum of 1.1190, which was reached at the end of last week. With a scenario of a deeper downward correction, it is best to return to long positions on the update of the minimum of 1.1125.
The Canadian dollar managed to strengthen its position against the US dollar on Friday after the report, which indicated that the Canadian economy in the 1st quarter showed growth that almost fell short of forecasts. The fall in exports was the main reason for slightly weaker than expected growth.
According to the National Bureau of Statistics of Canada, gross domestic product in the 1st quarter of 2019 grew by 0.4% per annum and amounted to 2.066 trillion Canadian dollars, after rising 0.3% in the 4th quarter of 2018. Economists expected that in the 1st quarter, GDP grew by 0.9% per annum. Compared with the previous month, Canada's GDP in March increased by 0.5%, while the forecast was 0.3%.
Inflation in Canada, in April of this year, increased due to the increase in prices for energy carriers and petroleum products. According to a report by the National Bureau of Statistics of Canada, CPI rose 0.8% in April from a month earlier, after rising 1.3% a month earlier. As noted above, energy prices in April rose by 5.6% after rising 2.8% a month earlier.
