EUR/USD eases from around 1.1145 to 1.1132 on mixed French, German data

EUR/USD H1 16-12

The manufacturing print for both the French and German readings disappointed but at least the services print held up somewhat - pointing to little indications of a significant negative spillover to other areas of the respective economies for the time being.

For Germany especially, the readings earlier highlight that any talk of a bottom seen in the manufacturing recession is premature as we look towards next year.

Looking at the details, Markit notes that the rate of declines in new orders and exports have eased so that provides some glimmer of hope. However, those readings are still at rather subdued levels at the moment.

The only bright side is that the services sector continues to stay somewhat resilient - easing pressure on the overall economy this year.

For EUR/USD, price has eased a little but the PMI story isn't telling us anything new. All it does it just create a bit of a setback for buyers hoping that the growth story will return back to the euro area in early next year.

As such, EUR/USD upside remains tentative for now with topside also limited by the 200-day moving average @ 1.1153 while downside is supported by the key hourly moving averages with the 100-hour MA (red line) seen @ 1.1123 first.