All this and more is available on our video blog at http://uk.youtube.com/user/WorldFirstJC

A worse than expected GDP figure from the EU weakened the European single currency on Friday and highlighted the inadequacies of the ECB’s policies in dealing with the credit crunch.

GDP for the eurozone printed at -2.5%; much worse than expected and worse than the Q1 figures from the UK (1.9%) and the US (1.6%). Of the constituent parts the main laggard was Germany whose export driven economy has hit the skids over recent months. The 3.8% fall in growth was the largest since the country started compiling records in 1970. Their growth figure was not the worst however; Slovakia, the newest EU member, saw growth fall by 11.2%. Welcome to the EU, Bratislava! A rebound in all GDP figures, the UK included, could be seen in Q2 as businesses have hammered their inventories and demand will simply have to rise.

US equity markets were broadly lower over the course of Friday which gave FX markets an oeuvre of irsk aversion into the weekend although US structured data was better than expected. NY Fed manufacturing improved to -4.55 from -14.65 in April while industrial production fell by 0.5% against a 1.5% fall the month previous continuing the worldwide trend of  ‘improved declines’.

Predicting these markets are as difficult as getting a dog in a bath but given the slippery growth figures from the EU further rate cuts from the EU are entirely possible alongside any ‘non-standard measures’.

Data is almost non-existent today and we expect equity, bond and credit markets to drive FX crosses.

World First’s Twitter page is up and running and we will be live ‘tweeting’ the impact of all these data releases and how they affect the markets. Click below for up-to-date news on all things currency. The address is http://twitter.com/World_First

Please feel free to contact me jeremy.cook@worldfirst.com(jeremy.cook@worldfirst.com) if you have any questions or thoughts regarding these updates or if you are interested in a particular event in the calendar. If you would like to discuss your foreign exchange requirements, please contact our: Corporate Foreign Exchange on 020 7801 9050 or ourPrivate Client Currency Exchange on 020 7801 9080. Disclaimer: The above comments are only our views and should not be construed as advice. You should act using your own information and judgement. Although information has been obtained from and is based upon multiple sources the author believes to be reliable, we do not guarantee its accuracy and it may be incomplete or condensed. All opinions and estimates constitute the author’s own judgement as of the date of the briefing and are subject to change without notice. Any rates given are “interbank” i.e. for amounts of £5million and thus are not indicative of rates offered by World First for smaller amounts. E&OE. Definitions of jargon/market terms can be found in our Glossary of Foreign Exchange Terms..

To view any past or present currency blogs please click on the following link www.worldfirst.com/blog