The financial markets are beginning this week on a neutral, perhaps slightly positive note. Last week data on the US GDP met investors’ expectations, and so the market did not experience any major shock waves.
Over the weekend Spain held a general election, which was won by the PSOE party, leaning center-left. This political party is relatively moderate in their views, so the result had a calming effect on European markets, since it indicates Spain will likely have a quiet, regular government that won’t make radical demands of the European Union or burden its finances further (such as the case in Italy, for example).
Today the euro has been trading around $1.1161. This level is still relatively low, but it is better than last week. In the absence of monetary policy decisions, right now the euro could be influenced by crude oil. There was a recent tightening of the oil market due to sanctions against Iran becoming more severe, plus the ongoing conflicts in Venezuela and Libya, but this weekend US President Donald Trump urged OPEC to increase their rates of oil extraction. If oil prices drop, the euro will increase, as Europe is primarily an importer of oil.
