The pound’s strength is helping to keep euro low, and today’s figures may also not help. GDP growth is expected later this morning to have declined by almost 4% quarter-on-quarter, after nearly all member states imposed strict lockdowns in April. Employment figures are also predicted to show a decline. At the end of this week, we will see industrial production, which is forecast to show a further drop.
German trade data for April this morning was disappointing, showing a 24% monthly slump in exports in April.
Christine Lagarde, speaking in Frankfurt yesterday, highlighted the ‘severe risks’ that the central bank is fighting against with its expanded Pandemic Emergency Purchase Programme/PEPP, which has recently been enlarged and extended until June 2021.
