Euro inches lower on trade war concerns

Euro stabilized against US dollar on Friday as concerns mounted over the opening of a new trade war front between the US and the EU.

The markets are still waiting for the winning candidate of the European Central Bank presidency to succeed Mario Draghi, whose term expires in October, amid expectations that that IMF director Christine Lagarde will have the European support for the post.

German trade balance showed a surplus of 18.7 billion euros in May, according to government data.

For its part, the European Commission threatened to respond with retaliatory tariffs on any action taken by the United States in this regard.

US President Donald Trump has threatened to impose tariffs on goods worth four billion dollars imported from the European Union because of the award of competitive advantages to Airbus on the account of Boeing as well as accusations of manipulating the exchange rate of the euro.

In terms of trading, by 17:52 GMT, EUR/USD settled at 1.1219, with a high of 1.1236 and a low of 1.1207.