Foreign Exchange Market Update

February 25, 2026

Eurozone

Euro traded at 1.1803 against USD at 9:00 AM PST

Spain's producer prices declined for the third straight month in January, driven by the sharp decline in energy prices. Producer prices fell 2.9% year-on-year in January, following a 3.0% decrease in December. This was the third straight month of decline.

Energy prices registered a double-digit decline of 10.6% in January. Meanwhile, prices of capital and consumer goods grew 2.0% and 1.0%. Prices of intermediate goods gained 0.2%. Month-on-month, producer prices advanced 0.5%, marking the second consecutive increase. Prices increased 0.4% in December. 02/25/2026 - 08:03:00 (RTTNews)

French consumer confidence slightly improved in February as households' assessment of their future financial situation as well as their standard of living strengthened. The consumer sentiment index rose slightly to 91 from 90 in the prior month.

The index remains unchanged at 90. Consumers' opinions regarding their future personal financial situation improved with the index rising to -8 from -12. The one related to their past financial situation was stable at -21. The proportion of households believing it is a good time to make major purchases continued to remain negative. The index remained steady at -28.

Households' assessments about their ability to save, both current and future, improved in February. The balance of opinion regarding their current savings capacity rose four points to 24, and the one related to their future savings capacity climbed two points to 17.

The indicator for future standard of living in France gained three points to -54, and the one related to past standard of living rose slightly to -69. Households' fears about unemployment rebounded slightly as the indicator moved up two points to 48.

The proportion of households who consider that prices will accelerate over the coming twelve months fell back sharply to -30 from -26. Meanwhile, the proportion of households who consider that prices rose sharply over the past twelve months declined to -12 from -7. 02/25/2026 - 07:06:00 (RTTNews)

The German economy expanded in the fourth quarter as robust domestic demand helped to weather weaker exports amid global trade uncertainty. GDP rose 0.3% after stagnating in the third quarter. The rate aligned with the preliminary estimate published on January 30. Yearly, Germany's GDP growth improved to 0.4% in the fourth quarter from 0.3% in the preceding period.

The positive development was primarily driven by household spending and government final consumption expenditure. There was also a substantial increase in gross fixed capital formation in the construction sector. On the expenditure side, household spending increased 0.5%, and government expenditure increased more sharply by 1.1% in the fourth quarter.

Overall gross capital formation dropped 0.5%. However, construction investment rose significantly by 1.6%. Investment in machinery and equipment rose marginally by 0.1%. Exports of goods and services were down 0.6%, and imports of goods and services dropped by 0.3%. 2/25/2026 - 05:07:00 (RTTNews)

Taiwan Jobless Rate Remains Stable at 3.36%

The unemployment rate in Taiwan held steady in January after rising slightly in the previous two months.  The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate came in at 3.36% in January, the same as in December. In the corresponding month last year, the rate was also 3.36%.

There were 405,000 unemployed people in January compared to 404,000 a month ago. The jobless rate dropped fractionally to 3.29% in January from 3.30% in the previous month, total employment increased by 4,000 from the previous month to 11.649 million. From the previous year, employment grew by 30,000 in January. 02/25/2026 - 06:00:00 (RTTNews)

Hong Kong Inflation Eases to 1.1% in January

Hong Kong's consumer price inflation moderated in January to the lowest level in four months. The CPI climbed 1.1% year-over-year in January, slower than the 1.4% rise in December. Moreover, a similar inflation rate was last seen in September 2025.

The slowdown in inflation was mainly due to the high base of comparison stemming from the Chinese New Year falling in January 2025, particularly in inbound and outbound transport fares.

Food inflation eased to 0.5% from 1.0%, and that of transportation slowed notably to 1.3% from 4.3%. Inflation based on housing softened to 1.1% from 1.6%, while utility costs logged a renewed increase of 3.0%.

Netting out the effects of all the government's one-off relief measures, underlying inflation also eased to 1.0% from 1.2% in December. The average monthly rate of increase for the 3 months ending in January was 0.2%. 02/25/2026 - 05:07:00 (RTTNews)