The Euro has strengthened against its peers after data showed that Eurozone exports increased for a third consecutive month giving economists hope that the troubled region is on the verge of emerging out of the longest recession in its history.
Euro-area exports increased a seasonally adjusted 2.8% from February, when they increased by 0.2%. According to the European Union’s statistics office, Eurostat, imports fell by 1% after the 2.2% drop in the previous month. As a result the regions trade surplus widened to €18.7 billion, a figure that beat economist expectations.
The trade data offers a brief reprieve following Wednesdays dire GDP data that showed that the Eurozone economy contracted by 0.2% in the first quarter of 2013.
Despite the positive trade data other economic information released shows just how much of an impact the Euro crisis is still having on the region. Consumer inflation dropped sharply to 1.2%, raising the risk of deflation in the Eurozone.
Prices in Germany, Greece, Belgium and France all feel in April. Energy prices fell % in April from March in the Eurozone, the single biggest drop in Eurostat’s index.
Falling prices may be good for consumer’s wallets but it also highlights how households are not spending and companies are not investing, dampening the pace of a recovery that is already unlikely to emerge later this year.
Confidence in the euro zone’s economy dropped for a second-month in a row in April, and morale darkened significantly in the core countries, particularly in France and Germany.
Current Euro (EUR) Exchange Rates
The Euro/US Dollar Exchange Rate is currently in the region of: 1.2851
The Euro/Pound Sterling Exchange Rate is currently in the region of: 0.8454
The Euro/Australian Dollar Exchange Rate is currently in the region of: 1.3119
The Euro/ New Zealand Dollar Exchange Rate is currently in the region of: 1.5768
The US Dollar/Euro Exchange Rate is currently in the region of: 0.7780
The Pound Sterling /Euro Exchange Rate is currently in the region of: 1.1832
The Australian Dollar/Euro Exchange Rate is currently in the region of: 0.7631
The New Zealand Dollar/Euro Exchange Rate is currently in the region of: 0.6352
(Correct as of 11:00am GMT)