The Euro to Pound Sterling Exchange Rate was trading at 0.8645 as of 10:55 am GMT
In recent weeks the turning tide of optimism regarding economic recovery in the Eurozone has led to the region’s currency rebounding from the lows of last summer.
The Euro has strengthened against the majority of its most traded peers on the back of positive data releases for the 17-nation currency bloc, coupled with slightly improved global economic sentiment.
Some industry experts have argued that the Euro has strengthened too much, too rapidly and now poses a risk to the currency bloc’s trade status, but others don’t agree.
Yesterday evening Luc Frieden, Luxembourg’s Finance Minister, insisted that the Euro’s current level is a reflection of the Eurozone’s improving economic standing and shouldn’t be perceived as a cause for concern.
He asserted: ‘I think this reflects the fundamental data of the European economy and I highlight that a year ago we thought that the Euro was incredibly weak. I think that this discussion shows that we have achieved a lot and that this always should be a topic of discussion in the G-7 countries, but there’s no special concern at this stage’.
When asked outright whether he perceived the Euro’s strength to be an issue Frieden’s ‘no’ was firm.
His comments allowed the Euro to extend gains against the US Dollar and could hardly be more different than those recently made by the French President.
Francois Hollande yesterday stressed that government leaders need to take control of the Euro’s exchange rate to stop trade suffering. Hollande insisted: ‘We can’t let the Euro fluctuate according to the mood of the market. We have to act at the international level to assert our interests [we need to] determine for the medium term an exchange-rate level that appears most realistic.’
However, anticipation surrounding tomorrow’s European Central Bank meeting and rate decision, coupled with political upheaval in Spain and Italy, has already caused the Euro to lose ground.
The Euro dropped to a week’s low against the US Dollar and posted modest declines against the majority of its other most traded counterparts.
As one senior currency strategist stated: ‘The banking scandal in Italy, plus the Italian elections and the Spanish scandal and economic issues, all mean that there are still risks for the Euro that will cap the upside.’
And with today’s German factory order data forecast to show a slight decline further downward movement could be ahead for the Euro.
Euro Exchange Rates
As of 10:55 am
The Euro to Pound Sterling exchange rate is currently trading in the region of 0.8645
The Euro to US Dollar exchange rate is currently trading in the region of 1.3533
The Euro to Australian Dollar exchange rate is currently trading in the region of 1.3133
The Euro to New Zealand Dollar exchange rate is currently trading in the region of 1.6081
The Euro to Canadian Dollar exchange rate is currently trading in the region of 1.3482
The Euro to Emirati Dirham exchange rate is currently trading in the region of 4.9713
The Euro to Swiss Franc is currently trading in the region of 1.2339
The Euro to Japanese Yen exchange rate is currently trading in the region of 126.9750