JavaScript is off. Please enable to view full site.

Euro rises above $1.22 for first time in more than two years

Euro rises above $1.22 for first time in more than two years

Wednesday, December 16, 2020, 17:05 GMT+7
Euro rises above $1.22 for first time in more than two years
A U.S. Dollar banknote is seen in this illustration taken May 26, 2020. Photo: Reuters

LONDON -- Strong euro zone survey figures and hopes of progress on Brexit negotiations pushed the euro above $1.22 versus the U.S. dollar on Wednesday for the first time since April 2018.

The euro has been gaining since the European Union announced a recovery fund in May, rising nearly 13% since then. Economic activity data in recent months have also boosted bets that Europe is outperforming the U.S.

Those expectations got a further boost with manufacturing survey data from Germany and France indicating that Europe’s biggest economies may be recovering quickly. and

Against the U.S. dollar, the euro rose 0.4% to $1.22065, putting it on track for its biggest annual rise since 2017.

“European PMIs, Brexit and a likely dovish Fed is boosting risk appetite in the currency markets,” said Kenneth Broux, a strategist at Societe Generale in London.

The European Union’s chief executive said she could not say whether the EU and Britain would reach a trade agreement, but progress had been made and the next few days would be critical.

Investors are also keeping an eye on the outcome of a two-day Federal Reserve policy meeting on Wednesday. Policymakers are expected to keep the overnight interest rate near zero and signal it will stay there for years to come, a decision that analysts say will further boost risk sentiment.

“There’s a feel-good momentum in the market,” said Bart Wakabayashi, Tokyo branch manager of State Street Bank in Tokyo.

The dollar index, which measures the U.S. currency against a basket of currencies, was last at 90.127, a level not seen since April 2018.

The Australian dollar was little changed at 75.75 U.S. cents AUD=D4, nearing a two-and-a-half-year high of 75.780 it reached on Monday.

Reuters

More

Read more

;

Photos

VIDEOS

‘Taste of Australia’ gala dinner held in Ho Chi Minh City after 2-year hiatus

Taste of Australia Gala Reception has returned to the Park Hyatt Hotel in Ho Chi Minh City's District 1 after a two-year hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic

Vietnamese woman gives unconditional love to hundreds of adopted children

Despite her own immense hardship, she has taken in and cared for hundreds of orphans over the past three decades.

Vietnam’s Mekong Delta celebrates spring with ‘hat boi’ performances

The art form is so popular that it attracts people from all ages in the Mekong Delta

Vietnamese youngster travels back in time with clay miniatures

Each work is a scene caught by Dung and kept in his memories through his journeys across Vietnam

Latest news