The Ifo Institute reported that business confidence in Germany was at 97.5 on its business climate index in July, down from 101.2 in June, the biggest drop since September 2001, making it less likely that the European Central Bank will raise interest rates again this year.also the Office for National Statistics in London said that retail sales in the UK were down by 3.9 percent in June, more of a decline than had been expected, prompting concerns that the economy there could enter a recession.
Meanwhile back at the ranch the dollar had a mixed trading day, initially making impressive gains on the back of weak European data before weak US data also and share losses forced the Dollar to give up most of its gains. Weekly Jobless Claims came in surprisingly high at 406K vs. expectations of 376K.