| Time | Country | Event | Period | Previous value | Forecast | Actual |
|---|
| 07:00 | Germany | Trade Balance (s.a.), bln | December | 20.4 | 18.8 | 22.2 |
| 08:55 | Germany | Services PMI | January | 49.3 | 47.6 | 47.7 |
| 09:00 | Eurozone | Services PMI | January | 48.8 | 48.4 | 48.4 |
| 09:30 | United Kingdom | Purchasing Manager Index Services | January | 53.4 | 53.8 | 54.3 |
EUR eased against most of its major counterparts in the European session on Monday as investors digested a raft of mixed data out of the Eurozone.
Specifically, the final data from S&P Global confirmed that business activity in the euro area continued to contract in January, albeit at a slightly slower pace than in the previous month. According to the final estimates, the Eurozone composite PMI came in at 47.9 last month, up from 47.6 in December 2023, matching flash estimates. Though marking an eight straight month of shrinkage in the region’s business activity, this was the highest reading since July 2023.
Meanwhile, Sentix's survey depicted a continuing improvement in investor morale in the euro area. The sentix economic index for the Eurozone jumped by +2.9 points to -12.9 points in February, the fourth consecutive increase. This also was the highest reading since April 2023. Both the current assessment (+2.5 points) and the expectations (+3.3 points) improved.
A separate report revealed that prices of industrial producers in the euro area dropped by 0.8% MoM in December 2023, following a 0.3% fall in the previous month. This marked the sharpest decline since May 2023. On a YoY basis, producer prices tumbled by 10.6% in December after an 8.8% decline in November. This represented the steepest decline in three months. Economists had forecast decreases of 0.8% MoM and 10.5% YoY.
Elsewhere, the Federal Statistical Office’s data showed a 4.6% MoM fall in German exports in December and a 6.7% MoM drop in imports.
Overall, today’s data align with investors' notion that continuing cooling of inflation and economic weakness might encourage the European Central Bank to start easing its policy stance.