The EUR held on to gains made on Thursday against the greenback keeping within sight of recent highs made as optimism has grown that the worst of the global economic crisis may be over. The European currency, which hit a 7 week high at $1.3722 this week, was a shade softer at $1.3624 in early trading on Friday.
Against the Yen, the EUR headed for its first gain in 3 days on speculation the European Central Bank (ECB) will take additional steps to keep down borrowing costs, possibly increasing demand for the currency. The EUR/JPY currency pair finished trading at 130.92 Yen from 129.42 Yen yesterday. Traders now wonder if the EUR can extend this 1 day gain against the JPY.
The market offered limited initial reaction to comments by members of the European Central Bank Governing Council, who on Thursday stated the ECB's key rate may eventually approach zero. Some analysts said recent comments from the ECB underlined disagreement between policymakers regarding how much lower Interest Rates can fall, and if this disagreement continues the result may be a bearish EUR in the medium-term.
The Pound Sterling remained under pressure after the Bank of England (BoE) said on Wednesday that it expected British inflation and the economy to recover more slowly than previously forecast. The Pound made impressive gains against the Dollar on Thursday to finish higher by over 100 pips at 1.5229. Today, investors have their eye on German Prelim GDP figures at 6.00 GMT, as this is likely to lead to volatility in the EUR/GBP cross.
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