Euro Attacks 1.17 After Inflation Data

The single currency held strong on Monday and the EURUSD surged throughout the day as it was changing hands slightly below the 1.17 level and was up 0.60% on the day.

Earlier in the session, inflation numbers from the Eurozone met expectations and printed 2.0% year-on-year (for the CPI benchmark inflation). However, the core indicator, which is more important for policy makers, stayed at 1.0%, well below the "required" 2.0% by the ECB.

The underlying inflation remains slow. However, the central bank expects it gradually to rise throughout the following year, which could mean the ECB will have to tighten its monetary policy faster. Nevertheless, this still is not being priced in, so it's very uncertain for now to say whether inflation will really pick up, especially when the economic momentum seems to be cooling down.

Monday's sentiment on the financial markets was also worsened by the latest news that Donald Trump is about to impose fresh USD$200 billion in tariffs on Chinese imports, further escalating the trade war. China immediately replied, saying they are preparing retaliatory measures against the US.

Stocks slid globally, with Chinese indices hitting fresh four-year lows and the greenback was sold-off broadly as well.