Positive manufacturing numbers in China have failed to encourage flows into riskier assets in Europe, with stocks in the region trading lower as we head into the North American cross. The FTSE is essentially unchanged, however the Dax and Stoxx are both down by over 0.2% with traders looking to book profits heading into the weekend. The EUR continues to get trounced as market sentiment builds against the common-currency on the back of the weaker than expected employment and inflation data released yesterday, with EURUSD shedding another 0.5% to put in a test of the 1.35 handle, while EURCAD is closing in on the 50% fib retracement level at 1.4040. With the ECB policy announcement on tap for next Thursday, long EUR positions are content to take some risk off the table, positioning for the possibility Draghi softens his tone on the outlook for monetary policy and what tools may be required to make sure growth makes a meaningful rebound in the zone. For corporates that are naturally short EUR, the reprieve seen over the last few days could be a good opportunity to take some near-term risk off the table, as the EUR beginning to fall into some pretty strong support, along with the fact that next week poses fairly significant event risk surrounding the ECB rate statement. Make sure to speak with your dealing teams to talk about strategy and the best way to position yourself moving into next week.