At $ 1.30, the euro is "too strong", by president Nicolas Sarkozy, visiting the assembly plant of Airbus A380 Thursday. The analysts on the foreign exchange market also believe that the single currency remains overvalued. A healthy parity is estimated slightly below $ 1.20 or more or less the level of creation.
But on Thursday, the euro is worth more than $ 1.32 (U.S. $ 1.3235 at 14:30 exactly) against 1.31 at the close of yesterday. In other words, EADS, is 100 million euros in costs in addition to the group. To support its exporters, the Head of State promised to "defend the euro" against a "monetary dumping", that is to say with countries that operate monetary policies that allow their currencies depreciate to encourage exports. In this battle – this war of currencies – the euro has not fared very well indeed not.
Prime Minister Francois Fillon, also leads the campaign to defend the euro. Visiting London, he tries to rally his British counterpart David Cameron to the European cause.
Shortly before (Monday), Nicolas Sarkozy, who gave the kick-off its international presidency of the G8 and G20 alongside the U.S. president, has repeatedly criticized the role of the dollar, global currency and reserve currency. Dollar, which has been weakened to a sudden massive injections of liquidity into the markets by the Fed. But for its part, Washington says the urgency is more on the monetary side of the euro area still mired in the debt crisis.
Portugal is seen as next on the list
Indeed in Europe, even if Portugal on Wednesday, then Italy and Spain on Thursday, managed to raise several billion euros in the bond markets, inquitédues persist in the European Union.The euro has nonetheless benefited: Wednesday, the currency has appreciated by 1.3%. Then on Thursday, she still climbs 0.80%. despite conditions-that interest rates in the long term – very hard.
"The current levels of yield (almost 7%, Ed) to be paid by Portugal to finance markets involves a high risk of seeing the country unable to cope alone, warn analysts at Commerzbank. Moreover, "before buying the debt of the peripheral countries of the eurozone, the European Central Bank (ECB) had created a sort of safety net for investors to be at the rendezvous" safer, they relativize .In other words, Portugal could well be next on the list to ask for aid to Europe, after Greece in spring 2010 and Ireland in autumn.
The euro is strengthening
Also on Thursday, Berlin has turned his jacket indicating that Germany would be prepared to increase the lending capacity of the European Financial Stability (FESF). Paris, who was his ally on this front, finds himself all alone. Then this afternoon, the European Central Bank has maintained, not surprisingly, the rate at 1%.
The rise of the euro on Thursday afternoon is also due to poor statistics on U.S. employment: new jobless claims began the year strong rise in the U.S., according to official figures released Thursday Washington and identifying the deposit of 445,000 requests for allocations from January 2 to 8, much higher than expected.A news that has driven the dollar, which benefits further the euro.
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