The Euro has declined against all of its major peers after unemployment in the Eurozone reached a new record level of 12.1% raising speculation that the European Central Bank will cut interest rates as soon as this week.
According to Eurostat the unemployment rate increased to a seasonally adjusted 12.1% in March, in line with expectations and up from the 12% recorded in February. The currency was also dragged downwards by data that showed that inflation in the region has dropped to a three-year low. The figure of a 1.2% is the biggest monthly drop recorded in more than four years, highlighting the state of the economy as it falls ever deeper into recession.
As a result of the Eurocrisis more than 19.2 million people are now out of work across Europe, the highest level since the Eurozone’s creation in 1999 and the highest level since Eurostat began to monitor jobless levels in 1995.
The highest levels of joblessness were recorded in Greece, Spain and Portugal with declines also being reported in France and even in Germany. Spain in particular continues to be of concern as data released on Tuesday showed that the nations GDP fell by 0.5% compared with the previous quarter.
On an annual basis, Spain’s economy shrank 2% in the quarter – the worst fall since the end of 2011. Last week; Spain’s government cut its forecast for 2013, saying it now expected the economy to shrink by 1.3%. Almost 60% of people aged under-25 is out of work. The jobless number is the highest since at least 1976, the year after Dictator Francisco Franco’s death heralded Spain’s transition to democracy.
The Euro could weaken further over the course of the day as Cyprus gets ready to vote whether it will accept the terms of a bailout imposed by its EU partners. It is likely to be approved by a thin margin but any surprises will likely send the single-currency downwards against the safe-haven US Dollar.
Current Euro (EUR) Exchange Rates
The Euro/US Dollar Exchange Rate is currently in the region of: 1.3057
The Euro/Pound Sterling Exchange Rate is currently in the region of: 0.8427
The Euro/Australian Dollar Exchange Rate is currently in the region of: 1.2618
The Euro/ New Zealand Dollar Exchange Rate is currently in the region of: 1.5273
The US Dollar/Euro Exchange Rate is currently in the region of: 0.7647
The Pound Sterling /Euro Exchange Rate is currently in the region of: 1.1849
The Australian Dollar/Euro Exchange Rate is currently in the region of: 0.7917
The New Zealand Dollar/Euro Exchange Rate is currently in the region of: 0.6542
(Correct as of 10:25 am GMT)
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