The 18-nation currency weakened against most of its 16 major peers on Monday, clearing previous gains after the European Central Bank (ECB) president Mario Draghi intervened against the euro over the weekend.
“Mario Draghi said, and he’s said it before, the currency does come into their views on monetary policy, it does naturally act as a handbrake on inflation,” said Chris Weston, the chief market strategist at IG Ltd. In Melbourne. “He’s basically trying to defend the $1.39 level. Above $1.39 you’re getting to the top of the longer-term range,” Weston added.
The euro weakened to $1.3840 per dollar on Monday, after climbing to $1.3884 on Friday. The 18-nation currency also fell against a basket of its major currencies. The euro stabilized slightly and traded 0.21% at $1.3856 at the time of writing.
“I’ve always said that the exchange rate is not a policy target, but it’s important for price stability and growth,” Draghi said on Saturday. “And now, what has happened over the last few months, it’s become more and more important for price stability.”
Meanwhile in Germany, the eurozone’s strongest economy; exports from the country dropped 1.3% lower in February, compared to the 2.2% climb seen in the previous month, a survey showed on Wednesday.
This week, investors will be keeping an eye for major data’s which will be released this week, such as retails sales, housing and building permits and most importantly the Federal Open Market Committee members’ speeches which are scheduled to hold through the week.
The Federal representatives that are expected to give speeches this week include Philadelphia Fed President Charles Plosser in Stone Mountain on Tuesday, Fed Governor Daniel Tarullo at the New York Stock Exchange on Monday and Minneapolis Fed President Narayana Kocherlakota at the Town Hall Forum on Wednesday.
Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen is also expected to speak on Wednesday at the 2014 Financial Markets Conference in Stone Mountain and on Thursday she will attend the Economic Club of New York.
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