European session review: EUR mixed amid heightened fears of economic damage

EUR traded mixed against its major rivals in the European session on Friday, as new cases of the coronavirus soared in Europe, heightening fears of economic damage. While the European single currency rose against the so-called commodity-currencies, it was little changed against USD and GBP and fell against the rest of major counterparts.

Investors also received Germany's labour market data, which showed a surprise drop in unemployment. According to the Federal Employment Agency, the number of people out of work declined 10,000 in February after a revised 4,000-drop in January, versus economists' expectations for an advance of 3,000. Meanwhile, the seasonally adjusted jobless rate remained unchanged at a near-record low of 5 percent, in line with economists' forecast.

In France, the statistical office Insee reported an upward revision to the 2019 GDP growth estimate due to robust consumption and investment. According to the report, the country's economy grew 1.3 percent in FY2019 instead of 1.2 percent estimated initially. Nonetheless, this was slower than FY2018 advance of 1.7 percent. In the fourth quarter, the French economy contracted 0.1 percent, in line with advance estimate, after expanding 0.3 percent in the third quarter.

A separate report revealed that consumer spending in France fell 1.1 percent m-o-m in January 2020, following a 0.3 percent m-o-m drop in December 2019. That marked the second consecutive decrease in household consumption due to weak spending on car purchases.