Euro Falls on Middle East Tensions, Ignores Upbeat Eurozone Data

The  euro today fell against the  much stronger US dollar amid heightened political tensions in  the  Middle East as  investors bought the  safe-haven greenback. The  EUR/USD currency pair was on  a  downward spiral from the  start of  the  session ignoring upbeat eurozone releases, which accelerated after the  release of  upbeat US data.
The  EUR/USD currency pair today fell from an  opening high of  1.1197 in  the  Asian session to  a  low of  1.1133 in  the  American session and  was near these lows at  the  time of  writing.
The  currency pair fell earlier today amid rising Middle Eastern tensions after Russian President Vladimir Putin made a  surprise visit to  Syria. Russia played a  crucial role in  keeping Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in  power during the  civil war. The  release of  upbeat eurozone retail sales data for  November by  Eurostat could not boost the  euro. The  monthly retail sales came in  at  1% translating into an  annualised 2.2% beating consensus estimates set at  1.3%. The  in-line eurozone retail sales data for  November, which came in  at  1.3% also did nothing. The  single currency also ignored the  release of  the  upbeat Italian CPI data for  December by  Istat.
The  release of  the  upbeat US trade balance data for  November by  the  Census Bureau in  the  American session drove the  pair lower. The  release of  the  upbeat US ISM Non-manufacturing PMI for  December hours later also boosted the  dollar.
The  currency pair’s future performance is likely to  be affected by  geopolitical events and  tomorrow’s German factory orders.
The  EUR/USD currency pair was trading at  1.1144 as  at  19:34 GMT having fallen from a  high of  1.1197. The  EUR/JPY currency pair was trading at  120.98 having dropped from a  high of  121.44.

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