EUR/USD trades higher near the 1.1460 area on Thursday as stronger-than-expected European economic data and softer United States (US) growth figures place pressure on the US Dollar (USD).
The Eurozone economy expanded 0.4% QoQ in the second quarter, beating expectations of 0.2% and recovering from the previous 0.2% contraction
On an annual basis, Gross Domestic Product increased 1.0%, well above the 0.5% market forecast and the previous 0.3% expansion. Growth was broadly distributed across the region. Germany’s economy expanded 0.2% QoQ, above the 0.1% forecast, while annual growth accelerated to 0.9% from 0.4%.
France returned to growth with a 0.2% QoQ expansion, Italy grew 0.2% QoQ and Spain outperformed the region with a 0.7% QoQ increase, exceeding expectations of 0.6%. In the US, preliminary second-quarter GDP increased at an annualized rate of only 1.5%, missing the 2.1% market forecast and slowing from the previous quarter. The weaker reading indicated that economic momentum moderated despite continued consumer spending and business investment.