International use of the Euro slipped last year because of the debt crisis in Europe, but the US dollar held its own as the world’s leading currency for reserves held by central banks, according to the European Central Bank.
European Central Bank President Mario Draghi said on Thursday that the Euro-area economy will return to growth by the end of the year, handing policy makers a reason to hold back fresh stimulus. Draghi spoke after the ECB Governing Council in Frankfurt left its main refinancing rate at 0.5% after reducing it by a quarter points last month.
Asian markets have dipped after Cyprus bailout plans triggered fears of an escalation of the Euro zone debt crisis. The EU and IMF want all bank customers to pay a levy in return for a bailout worth 10bn Euros and although the plan is yet to be finalised, the news of the deal caused a rush to the cash machines in Cyprus as people tried to withdraw money.
The finance ministers of the G20 group of nations are meeting in Moscow amid concerns that major trading powers may be heading towards a currency war. Japan's monetary stance has seen a big decline in the Yen, while the Euro has risen against a basket of currencies.
European Central Bank President Mario Draghi admitted on Thursday policy makers are concerned that the Euro strength will hamper their efforts to pull the economy out of recession and although the exchange rate is not a policy target, he confirmed “it is important for growth and price stability”.
French President François Hollande called on the Euro zone on Tuesday to develop an exchange rate policy to help protect the common currency from “irrational movements”. His comments came amid growing concern that the Euro, now trading around 1.35 to the US dollar, is too strong and could undermine the country’s exporters and hence wider economic growth.
International financier George Soros has called for Germany to lead or leave the euro days before a crucial ruling on the Euro zone's bailout fund by Germany's constitutional court. Mr Soros argued that the euro zone should target 5% economic growth.
Asian shares and the Euro eased on Friday as the European Central Bank, as happened with the Federal Reserve on Wednesday, disappointed markets looking for an imminent move to deal with the Euro zone debt crisis.
German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble and his counterpart from Madrid said Spain’s borrowing costs don’t reflect the strength of its economy as they pledged to work toward deeper integration to fight the debt crisis.
The Euro weakened to the lowest in more than 11 years against the Yen as investors sought safer assets amid mounting concern that European leaders are failing to control the region’s debt crisis.