Investing.com – The euro hit a two-week high against the dollar on Wednesday, as hopes that an improved rate of vaccination will ensure that the current round of lockdowns will be the last.
EUR/USD rose as high as $1.1899 before retracing, helped by upbeat Services PMIs in Germany and France which led to the composite PMI for the Eurozone being revised up to 53.2 from an initial estimate of 52.6. That’s the highest reading since August..
For France, the services PMI increased to 48.2 from 45.6. Germany’s services PMI rose to 51.5 from from 45.7.
Most European Union member states will have enough vaccines to inoculate a majority of their population against Covid-19 by the end of June, Bloomberg reported Tuesday. However, that forecast is dependent on the European Medicines Agency not restricting the distribution of AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN)’s vaccine. The EMA is expected to update its guidance on the drug later Wednesday, a day after one of its officials told the Italian newspaper Il Messagero that a link had been established between it and a handful of fatal blood clots – mostly in women under 60.
The seriousness of the current wave of pandemic was underline earlier by comments from a German government spokeswoman that the country could go for a short but hard lockdown to bring Covid-19 cases back under control.
“Every call for a short, uniform lockdown is right,” deputy government spokeswoman Ulrike Demmer told reporters, adding Germany was seeing a growing number of intensive care patients.
She also said that the government was looking at whether nationwide, rather than regional, measures were needed.
Source: Economy - investing.com
