LONDON—The euro continued its retreat from a more-than-two-week high as disappointing activity data from France and Germany pushed the single currency lower, a day after the European Central Bank highlighted the path for interest rates would be data dependent.
German business activity unexpectedly shrank in July while French manufacturing activity contracted and growth in services slowed, preliminary purchasing managers’ (PMI) surveys showed.
Analysts said the eurozone economy appeared to be heading towards a recession.
“The U.S. economy is slowing but Europe is slowing quicker. It’s the reason why the FX market continues to be underweight the euro,” said Viraj Patel, macro strategist at Vanda Research….