Euro showed moderate gains against the dollar amid ECB President. Mario Draghi's speech in the European Parliament reiterated that monetary policy of the Bank will remain accommodative for as long as necessary, and that interest rates will be maintained at low levels for a long time. Although the situation in the euro zone has not yet stabilized and the downside risks to the economy persist, the ECB expects that in the 2nd half of 2013 in the region will begin a gradual recovery of the economy. The decisive factor in this process will be stable banking system. Draghi said that the ECB's policy has helped stabilize financial conditions in the euro area. Meanwhile, the actions of the EU governments have stimulated the growth of confidence in the eurozone, and sentiment indicators have risen recently.
Note also that break the euro did not help even weak data for the euro area and Germany. Recall that today was presented indicator of investor confidence Sentix. According to reports, in June, the index of confidence of European investors Sentix fell to around -12.6 from -11.6 in May result.
Meanwhile, data from the Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology showed that by the end of May the volume of industrial production in Germany fell significantly more than expected, which was associated with a significant reduction in the construction and energy sectors. Apparently, the recovery of Europe's largest economy remains fragile in the face of uncertain prospects for foreign trade. According to the report, on a monthly basis in May, industrial production fell by 1%, thus showing the biggest drop since October 2012. It is worth noting that many economists had expected a drop in production was 0.5%, after rising 2% in April. In addition, it was reported that on an annualized basis, industrial output fell by 1%, offsetting an increase of 0.9%, which was recorded in April.
The yen against the dollar fluctuates, due to the lack of important publications and events. Note that in part influenced by the currency data from the Ministry of Finance of Japan, which showed that by the end of May a positive current account balance declined in May, but, nevertheless, continued to remain in positive territory for the fourth consecutive month, after fixing the deficit in the current three consecutive months. According to a report by the end of May current account surplus decreased to the level of 540.7 billion yen, compared with a surplus of 750.0 billion yen in April. It is worth noting that according to the average forecasts of experts the value of this index was to drop to 600.0 billion yen. In addition, it was reported that the surplus jumped in May by 58.1 percent on an annualized basis, which was also below expectations for a jump of 91.6 percent after a surge 100.8 percent in the previous month. The Ministry of Finance also reported that the trade deficit in the month of May totaled 906.7 billion yen compared to the predictions of experts at the level of 902.1 billion yen deficit, and after a deficit of 818.8 billion yen in the previous month. We add that the volume of exports increased by 9.1 percent per year, reaching at the same level of 5.526 trillion. yen, compared with 5.568 trillion. yen in April. Meanwhile, imports grew by 9.6 per cent per annum - up to 6433 billion yen after reaching 6,387 billion a month earlier.