Weekly summary:
As this week comes to a close the Euro is trading against the majority of its peers at lower levels that it began as a stream of disappointing economic news for the Eurozone takes its toll.
Separate reports showed that manufacturing and services output for the Eurozone fell for a 15th consecutive month, while German business sentiment slumped.
Meanwhile, Spanish unemployment reached its highest level for at least 37 years and French jobless claims hit record levels.
The Euro’s decline against the British Pound was exacerbated by the news that the UK not only avoided a triple dip recession but also posted moderately stronger growth than forecast. The better than expected result triggered widespread Sterling gains.
However, losses in the Euro were limited this week as the Italian parliament took two giant strides towards resolving its political uncertainty – firstly by instating Giorgio Napolitano as President and secondly, Napolitano’s consequent selection of Enrico Letta as Prime Minister.
The common currency also benefited from the fact that better-than-forecast US initial jobless claims figures, coupled with the surprising UK data, turned investors away from safe-haven assets and increased the appeal of higher-risk currencies like the Euro.
Further Euro movement could occur before the end of the European session as Spain presents its medium term fiscal plan and US GDP figures for the first quarter are released.
Euro Exchange Rates (as of 11:35 am GMT)
< Lower than last week
> Higher than last week
The Euro is trading against the Pound in the region of 0.8435 <
The Euro is trading against the US Dollar in the region of 1.3026 <
The Euro is trading against the Australian Dollar in the region of 1.2669 >
The Euro is trading against the New Zealand Dollar in the region of 1.5303 <
The Euro is trading against the Canadian Dollar in the region of 1.3271 <
