The Euro may see short-term gains ahead with Germany’s IFO Business Climate indicator expected to rise for the third consecutive month in June since hitting a record low in March. However, economic growth and interest rate expectations continue to favor a bearish Euro bias against the US Dollar. The Euro trended lower in the overnight session, losing as much as -0.6% to the US dollar. The British Pound tested as low as 1.6447 but rebounded to stand relatively unchanged ahead of the opening bell in Europe. The World Bank cut its economic growth forecast, saying global GDP will shrink -2.9% in 2009 versus forecasts of a -1.7% decline reported in March. The forecast for 2010 was also lowered, with the Bank calling for the world economy to add 2% versus previous estimates of a 2.3% expansion. Global trade volumes are now expected to fall -9.7% in 2009 versus March’s -6.1% contraction. The report accompanying the revisions said that “While the global economy is projected to begin expanding once again in the second half of 2009, the recovery is expected to be much more subdued than might normally be the case.” Bank President Robert Zoellick and company also seem to think that risk aversion remains a factor in financial markets, saying “investors’ flight from perceived danger [is a] trend that is very likely to persist through the end of 2009.” Such a dynamic stands to benefit safety-linked currencies, particularly the US Dollar and the Japanese Yen.