Euro Spikes Up After Eurozone Services Activity Expands To Near 7-yr High

The euro strengthened against its major rivals in early European trading on Thursday, as Eurozone private sector expanded the most since early 2011 driven by a near-record expansion of manufacturing and the steepest rise in service sector for over six-and-a-half years.

Final data from IHS Markit showed that the composite output index rose to 58.1 in December from 57.5 in November. This was the highest score since February 2011.

The score was slightly above the flash 58.0. The headline index has signaled growth for 54 successive months.

The services Purchasing Managers' Index improved to 56.6 from 56.2 in November. The flash reading was 56.5.

In Germany, the service sector activity rose at the fastest rate for two years in December, marking a strong finish to a highly positive year.

Germany's composite PMI climbed to an 80-month high of 58.9 from 57.3 in the previous month. The flash reading was 58.7.

Upbeat Eurozone data along with higher oil prices also propped up European shares.

The currency has been trading higher in the Asian session.

The single currency advanced to 1.2056 against the greenback, after having fallen to 1.2005 at 7:00 pm ET. The euro is seen finding resistance around the 1.23 region.

The 19-nation currency edged up to 1.1762 against the franc, following a decline to 1.1730 at 5:30 pm ET. Continuation of the euro's uptrend may see it challenging resistance around the 1.20 mark.

The euro strengthened to 135.69 against the yen, a level not seen since October 2015. The next possible resistance for the euro is seen around the 137.00 level.

Survey from Nikkei showed that Japan's manufacturing sector continued to expand in December, and at an accelerated pace, with a manufacturing PMI score of 54.0.

That's up from 53.6 in November, and it moves further above the boom-or-bust line of 50 that separates expansion from contraction.

Reversing from an early low of 1.5052 against the loonie, the euro ticked up to 1.5092. On the upside, 1.52 is likely seen as the next resistance for the euro.

Having fallen to a 6-day low of 1.5313 against the aussie at 1:15 am ET, the euro reversed direction and bounced off to 1.5362. The euro is likely to challenge resistance around the 1.56 mark.

The euro rose back to 0.8898 against the pound, not far from an early session's high of 0.8900. On the upside, 0.90 is possibly seen as the next resistance for the euro-pound pair.

Survey data from IHS Markit showed that British service sector growth accelerated at a faster-than-expected pace in December.

The IHS Markit/Chartered Institute of Procurement & Supply Purchasing Managers' Index, rose to 54.2 in December from 53.8 in November. Economists had expected the index to rise to 54.0.

Looking ahead, at 8:15 am ET, ADP private payrolls for December are due.

In the New York session, U.S. weekly jobless claims for the week ended December 30, Markit's services PMI for December and Canada industrial product price index for November are slated for release.