The Euro to Norwegian Krone (EUR/NOK) exchange rate and Euro to Swedish Krona (EUR/SEK) exchange rate strengthened on Thursday as the single currency received support from more positive data out of Germany.
The Euro to Norwegian Krone (EUR/NOK) exchange rate touched a session high of 8.6067
Data, which showed that sentiment amongst German consumers reached its highest level in more than 13-years, buoyed the single currency against a number of its most traded peers. The Norwegian Krone meanwhile was softened by the release of data, which showed that unemployment in the Scandinavian increased unexpectedly at the start of the year.
According to the report published by Statistics Norway, the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate increased from the revised figure of 3.8% recorded in December to 3.9% in January.
The overall number of Norwegians out of work increased to 109,000 from the preceding month’s figure of 104,000. The number in work eased slightly to 2.65 million from 2.66 million. The overall employment rate now stands at 68.6, a dip from December’s figure of 68.7.
The figure took economists by surprise as they had been forecasting for the jobless rate to fall to 3.7%. At the same time in the previous year, the jobless rate was 3.5%.
Further losses for the Norwegian Krone were held in check however, as oil prices increased by 6%. Traders grew concerned that the conflict in the oil rich Middle East is spreading after Saudi Arabia launched airstrikes against rebels in Yemen.
The Euro to Swedish Krona (EUR/SEK) Exchange Rate was trading in the region of 9.3431
The Swedish Krona softened against the Euro despite the release of better than forecast domestic data.
According to Statistics Sweden, the nation’s trade balance posted a surplus of SEK 4.6 billion in February.
Last month, exports of goods amounted to SEK 93.9 billion, while imports of goods amounted to SEK 89.3 billion. As a result, the net trade balance was SEK 4.6 billion. Foreign trade in goods resulted in a net trade surplus of SEK 4.6 billion in February 2015 according to preliminary calculations. In February 2014, the net trade surplus was SEK 4.8 billion.
Despite, the better-than-forecast trade balance figure, the Swedish Krona was unable to advance against the Euro.
Against the US Dollar, the Swedish Krona rallied to a three week high following the release of the data.