The single currency stays well on the defensive and drags EUR/USD to fresh YTD lows in sub-1.1800 levels on Thursday. EUR/USD extends the leg lower to levels below the 1.1800 yardstick for the first time since November 2020 on the back of the unabated upside momentum in the greenback. In fact, the prospects of a solid recovery in Europe now appear dented, as investors keep adjusting to the possibility of another wave of the pandemic in combination with increasing lockdown restrictions in several countries.
Earlier in the session, the German Consumer Confidence tracked by GfK bettered to -6.2 for the month of April, while Business Confidence in France stayed unchanged at 98 for the current month. Results from the ECB showed that M3 Money Supply expanded 13.3% on a year to January, surpassing forecasts, while Private Sector Loans increased 3.0% from a year earlier.