Eurozone Economy Beats Forecasts as Trade Balance Surplus Widens

The Eurozone's economy grew at a 0.4% pace in the second quarter, matching market forecasts. The data was released by Eurostat on Friday. This growth rate is an improvement from the flat performance seen in the first three months of the year.

Compared to last year's second quarter, the Eurozone economy grew 1%. The number of employed workers in the region also increased at a steady 0.1% rate in the second quarter and 0.5% year on year.

The Eurozone Trade Balance was another positive surprise, with a EUR 8.6 billion surplus in June, beating expectations of a EUR 2.2 billion deficit. This follows a EUR 9 billion deficit in May.

FX Strategists at ING state that these releases are 'second-tier' and would need significant surprises to trigger a meaningful dollar reaction. The US Dollar is losing ground ahead of the US Retail Sales release, which is expected to show a 0.1% uptick in July.