Draghi’s Departure Might Spark a Change in European Sentiment Ahead of a Potential Economic Slowdown.

The euro was the main benefactor yesterday as the ECB President, Mario Draghi, managed to deliver dovish news in a positive tone. He ruled out any chance of an interest rate hike in the next year and even suggested the door was open was additional cuts should the global trade war and Brexit starts to impact European growth. However, markets were expecting an even more dovish statement which consequently sent the euro higher across the board, particularly against the dollar where it is on course for its best weekly performance since last September.

The Central bank is facing a new wave of uncertainty, as financial markets worry that the various U.S. trade conflicts might turn into something worse. The labour market in the eurozone remains strong, and economic activity in its services and construction sectors is solid. But the risk of protectionism is taking a toll on manufacturing. The ECB has revised the year’s growth forecasts marginally upwards, but it downgraded estimates for 2020 and 2021. Inflation concerns are lagging the bank’s target of just below 2 percent. While Draghi noted this was a global phenomenon and that there was no risk of deflation, he recognized that the ECB needed to address the problem.

Across the pond, the US The economy has been expected to have added a solid 180,000 jobs in May, but if the payroll number is much stronger or weaker than forecast, that could be a game changer for the markets and any consumers or businesses looking for a loan. Coming amid a huge shift in expectations for Federal Reserve interest rate cuts, economists say a big miss either way in Friday morning’s May employment report could have a profound impact on markets and help decide the timing of the first Fed interest rate cut in more than 10 years.

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