| Time | Country | Event | Period | Previous value | Forecast | Actual |
|---|
| 08:15 | Eurozone | ECB President Lagarde Speaks | | | | |
| 08:30 | Germany | Manufacturing PMI | December | 43.0 | 43.1 | 42.5 |
| 08:30 | Germany | Services PMI | December | 49.3 | 49.3 | 51.0 |
| 08:35 | Eurozone | ECB President Lagarde Speaks | | | | |
| 09:00 | Eurozone | Manufacturing PMI | December | 45.2 | 45.3 | 45.2 |
| 09:00 | Eurozone | Services PMI | November | 49.5 | 49.5 | 51.4 |
| 09:30 | United Kingdom | Purchasing Manager Index Manufacturing | December | 48.0 | 48.2 | 47.3 |
| 09:30 | United Kingdom | Purchasing Manager Index Services | December | 50.8 | 51 | 51.4 |
EUR fell against other major currencies in the European session on Monday as investors digested the preliminary PMI readings for the euro area, which revealed that business activity in the region’s private sector continued to contract in December and the comments from the European Central Bank’s president Christine Lagarde.
S&P Global reported its flash estimates showed that the Eurozone private sector’s business activity shrank this month, albeit at a slower pace than in November as the services sector resumed growth. S&P Global’s composite purchasing managers’ index (PMI) jumped to 49.5 in December from 48.3 in the previous month. A 50-mark separates expansion from contraction. Economists had predicted the indicator to slip to 48.2.
Meanwhile, the ECB’s boss Lagarde indicated that further decreases in interest rates are to come as inflation in the Eurozone is approaching the central bank’s target. “If the incoming data continue to confirm our baseline, the direction of travel is clear and we expect to lower interest rates further,” she stated.