EUR/GBP stalls below 0.8690 amid mixed data from Germany

The Euro is trading flat in the area of 0.8675 on Friday’s early European session, halfway through the weekly range, following mixed macroeconomic data from Germany. From a wider perspective, the pair is on track for a 0.3% weekly loss and a 1.5% sell-off from mid-November highs above 0.8800.

German data released earlier on Friday revealed that Industrial Production grew 0.8% in November, following a 2.0% increase in the previous month, against market expectations of a 0.4% decline.

The trade surplus, on the other hand, narrowed to €13.1 billion in November, from €16.9 billion in October, below the €16.5 surplus anticipated by the market consensus. Exports dropped 2.5%, against market expectations of flat performance, reactivating concerns about the outlook for the Eurozone’s leading economy.

Later on Friday, Eurozone retail sales are expected to show a 0.1% uptick in November after a 0% reading in October. Year-on-year, retail consumption is expected to have accelerated to 1.6% from 1.5% in October.

In the UK, the economic calendar is thin this week. The Pound remains on the defensive following a downward revision of the S&P Global Services PMI on Monday. These figures have raised concerns about a softening economic growth in a context of high inflation, which will pose a headache for the Bank of England, and is keeping the pair from falling further.