As another week nears its close the Euro began the local session weaker against the Pound and US Dollar.
The Pound advanced on the Euro this morning ahead of the release of UK construction data while the US Dollar rallied against its European counterpart prior to the publication of today’s US retail sales and sentiment figures.
With Eurozone Finance Ministers meeting today and putting Greece back under the microscope, the Euro may experience additional fluctuations in the hours ahead.
The Lithuanian government is chairing the meeting, and issued the following summary statement; ‘Government deficits and current account deficits are decreasing, economic confidence is stabilising, while international competitiveness indicators show strong positive signs. However, many challenging factors remain: in a number of member states the general government debt level increased over the last year, unemployment persists at an unacceptably high level and youth unemployment, in particular, remains a challenge for most of the EU Member States.’
The Euro/Pound Sterling pairing is currently trading in the region of 0.8406
While tackling the record high levels of European unemployment will be one of the topics under discussion during the two day meeting, Greece, and what additional fiscal assistance the struggling nation may need, is a pressing concern. According to international lenders, Greece will need over 10 Billion Euros from the second half of 2014 if it is to see the kind of recovery other Eurozone members are experiencing.
Although Dutch Finance Minister Jeroen Dijsselbloem has stated that Greece won’t be discussed until October, the German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble has stated that possibility of a third bailout for the nation will be on the agenda.
The meeting will continue tomorrow, so any comments emerging from Vilnius could trigger Euro movement over the weekend.
Euro (EUR) Exchange Rates
As of 09:00
The Euro/US Dollar Exchange Rate is currently in the region of: 1.3278 <
The Euro/Pound Sterling Exchange Rate is currently in the region of: 0.8406 <
The Euro/Australian Dollar Exchange Rate is currently in the region of: 1.4375 >
The Euro/ New Zealand Dollar Exchange Rate is currently in the region of: 1.6380 >
The Euro/ Canadian Dollar Exchange Rate is currently in the region of: 1.3733 >
