Euro Rises Amid ECB Rate Hike Speculations

(RTTNews) - The euro strengthened against other major currencies in the European session on Friday, as investors await the Fed and the ECB's monetary policy announcements next week.

Gediminas Simkus, a member of the European Central Bank Governing Council, dismissed the prospect of a rate increase at the meeting on April 30 but said that it cannot be ruled out this year.

Due to persistent geopolitical unpredictability, some investors have changed their expectations for an ECB rate increase from April to June.

In economic news, German business confidence declined to its lowest level in nearly six years in April, driven by the supply chain disruptions and energy shocks caused by the war in the Middle East, survey data from the ifo Institute revealed Friday.

The business climate index dropped to 84.4 in April from 86.3 in March. The reading hit the lowest since May 2020 but remained above economists' forecast of 85.7.

In the European trading today, the euro rose to a 4-day high of 0.9205 against the Swiss franc, from an early low of 0.9184. The euro may test resistance around the 0.92 region.

Against the U.S. dollar and the pound, the euro advanced to 2-day highs of 1.1719 and 0.8663 from early lows of 1.1684 and 0.8868, respectively. If the euro extends its uptrend, it is likely to find resistance around 1.18 against the greenback and 0.88 against the pound.

The euro edged up to 186.88 against the yen, from an early low of 186.44. On the upside, 188.00 is seen as the next resistance level for the euro.

Looking ahead, Canada retail sales data for February, wholesale sales data for March, U.S. University of Michigan consumer sentiment index for April and U.S. Baker Hughes oil rig count data are slated for release in the New York session.