The euro dollar exchange rate is 0.456% lower on the day with 1 EUR = 1.4202 USD.
The euro pound exchange rate is 0.216% lower with 1 EUR = 0.8777 GBP.
French GDP came in to show no quarterly growth whatsoever, below expectations of a 0.3% showing.
"This represents the worst quarterly showing since May 2009 and couldn’t have come at a worse time, with the growing concerns surrounding the French economy that have surfaced this week. Germany, more than ever, will be relied upon for to drive eurozone growth moving forward," says a note from Richard Driver at UK money transfer company Caxton Fx.
The euro needs confidence to bounce back today to build on its uptick this morning.
It is trading at $1.42, but this afternoon’s US data provides an opportunity to get back to the middle of this pair’s trading range.
Ahead we have some eurozone industrial production data, though again equity movements are likely to prove more telling.
With regards to the pound to euro rate, we see the pair gained the best part of a cent as appetite for the risky euro remains very cautious.
The news from the eurozone is that short-selling of stocks in France, Italy, Belgium and Spain has been banned for 15 days, though there was a characteristic lack of euro-wide support for the measure.
We have seen the share price of French banks suffer hugely from rumours this week, and this latest prohibition is an attempt to calm the extreme volatility in the stock markets (which is also filtering into the currency markets).
