The Euro has declined against the majority of its peers after the Portuguese jobless rate rose to its highest level since the conception of the single currency.
The currency had been strengthening over the course of the day until the jobs data was released. The initial rise came as a result of a better-than-expected industrial output data and as Italian bonds stayed higher as the government managed to sell up to €9 billion worth of debt.
“The Portugal premier sounded concern about a sharp rise in unemployment, which is coming on the eve of tomorrow’s growth data from the euro zone,” said Joe Manimbo, a market analyst at Western Union Business Solutions, a unit of Western Union Co., said in Washington, D.C. “We’re starting to see economic jitters rise to the surface.”
The Portuguese unemployment level posted an increase to 16.9% up from 15.8% in the third quarter according to the Lisbon based National Statistics Institute. The rising level is the fastest increase in over a year. Unemployment averaged 15.7% in 2012 compared to 12.7% in 2011 painting a clear picture that Portugal’s woes are far from over.
With the terrible data the Euro could begin to lose its strength as investors that talked themselves into believing the crisis was over could be shook out of their empathy. Eventually it could prove a case that the Euro crisis never went away it was just economists wishing it had.
Current Euro exchange rates
As of 16:40 am
The Euro to Pound Sterling exchange rate is currently trading in the region of 0.8616
The Euro to US Dollar exchange rate is currently trading in the region of 1.3439
The Euro to Australian Dollar exchange rate is currently trading in the region of 1.2988
The Euro to New Zealand Dollar exchange rate is currently trading in the region of 1.5980
The Euro to Canadian Dollar exchange rate is currently trading in the region of 1.3472
The Euro to Emirati Dirham exchange rate is currently trading in the region of 4.9361
The Euro to Swiss Franc is currently trading in the region of 1.2353
The Euro to Japanese Yen exchange rate is currently trading in the region of 125.6544
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