Foreign Exchange Market Update

April 8, 2026

Eurozone

Euro traded at 1.1690 against USD at 9:00 AM PST

Eurozone producer prices declined in February due to a notable drop in energy prices. Producer prices decreased 0.7% from January.  Excluding energy, producer prices edged up 0.1%. Prices of energy were down 2.4%, and those of non-durable consumer goods slid 0.2%. The cost of intermediate and capital goods gained 0.3% each. Prices of durable consumer goods moved up 0.2%. Yearly, producer prices posted a fall of 3.0% following a 2.0% decrease in January. 04/08/2026 - 06:04:00 (RTTNews)  

Eurozone retail sales declined in February due to a fall in food turnover. Retail sales dropped 0.2% in February after remaining flat in January. Sales of food, drinks, and tobacco decreased 0.5%, offsetting the 0.5% rise in the previous month. Non-food product turnover remained flat, while automotive fuel sales rebounded 0.7%.

Year-on-year, retail sales growth slowed to 1.7% in February from 2.1% the prior month. Retail sales in the EU27 also decreased 0.3% in February but increased 1.7% from the same period last year. Among member states, the largest monthly decreases in the total retail trade volume were recorded in Lithuania, Poland, and Slovenia. Meanwhile, the highest increases were seen in Malta, Bulgaria, Cyprus, and Portugal. 04/08/2026 - 05:50:00 (RTTNews)

France's foreign trade deficit increased in February as exports fell amid an increase in imports. The trade gap widened to EUR 5.8 billion in February from EUR 2.0 billion in January. In the corresponding month last year, the shortfall was EUR 6.9 billion.

Exports posted a monthly fall of 2.3% in February. At the same time, imports climbed 4.6% from January. The rise in imports was fueled by an increase in natural hydrocarbons, transport equipment, and pharmaceuticals, particularly from China. Yearly, exports grew 4.1%, and imports increased only by 0.1%. 04/08/2026 - 08:09:00 (RTTNews)

Germany's factory orders recovered in February ahead of the war in Iran. Driven by the substantial growth in the auto industry, factory orders grew 0.9% monthly in February, in contrast to the 11.1% decline in January. When large orders are excluded, new orders have expanded by 3.5% from the previous month.

Positive development in new orders in manufacturing was primarily driven by the substantial growth in the automobile industry, as orders gained 3.8%. Meanwhile, the manufacture of other transport equipment reported a sharp fall of 25.9%. New orders for capital goods moved up 0.2%, and those for intermediate goods climbed 1.4%. At the same time, orders for consumer goods increased 4.5%.

Foreign orders advanced 4.7%, with orders from the euro area climbing to 6.7%. Demand from outside the euro area grew 3.5%. On the other hand, domestic orders fell 4.4%. Overall factory orders logged an annual growth of 3.5% in February after rising 0.3% in January. Real turnover in manufacturing decreased 0.5%, following an increase of 0.7% in January. On a yearly basis, manufacturing was 0.4% higher. 04/08/2026 - 04:15:00 (RTTNews)

Taiwan Inflation Eases to 1.2% in March

Taiwan consumer price inflation moderated in March from a 10-month high in the previous month. The consumer price index (CPI) rose 1.20% year-on-year in March, slower than the 1.77% rise in February. Food prices dropped 0.22% annually in March, and inflation based on housing and utilities softened somewhat to 2.02% from 2.06%. Meanwhile, transport charges rebounded marginally by 0.03%.

On a monthly basis, consumer prices moved up 0.19% in March versus a 0.21% increase in February. Producer prices rose 2.53% annually in March, following a 0.57% fall a month ago. Moreover, this was the highest rate of increase in one year, mainly driven by higher costs for petroleum and coal products. 04/08/2026 - 04:59:00 (RTTNews);