U.S. rates, strong economies boost European currencies

Published: 9 January 2006 y., Monday

Central European currencies have reached levels close to all-time records against the euro in recent days, boosted by strong economic performance and a rush by international investors to the region.

On Thursday morning, the Polish zloty was trading at just under 3.80 to the euro, its strongest rate since 2002.

By Friday, the zloty had eased off slightly and stood at around 3.81 to the euro.

The Czech koruna closed Friday at 28.90 to the euro, near its record.

Slovak markets were closed Friday because of a Roman Catholic religious holiday, but the koruna ended the day's trading on Thursday at 37.65, also near its record.

Analysts attribute the rise in the currencies to central Europe's strong economies and to investors ditching the dollar after the U.S. Federal Reserve hinted at the beginning of the year that transatlantic interest rates were as high as they were going to go for a while.

Experts have predicted GDP growth of 4.3 percent, inflation at 1.5 percent and a 3.2-percent budget deficit in Poland in 2006.

The Warsaw stock exchange climbed to new highs in the first week of 2006, with blue chips showing gains of 5.6 percent.

Polish interest rates are higher than in eurozone countries, and investors are fighting to get their hands on Polish bonds.

Šaltinis: AFP
Copying, publishing, announcing any information from the News.lt portal without written permission of News.lt editorial office is prohibited.

Facebook Comments

New comment


Captcha

Associated articles

The most popular articles

Equal pay for women - not yet

Women in the EU earn on average 18% less than men - a gap that has scarcely narrowed over the last 15 years and in some countries has even grown. more »

EU's biggest-ever energy package

43 gas and electricity projects to split €2.3bn, the most the EU has ever spent on energy infrastructure in a single package. more »

Georgia to gradually integrate into the European common aviation market

Georgia and the European Union have initialled a comprehensive air services agreement at a meeting in Tbilisi, Georgia, today which will open up and integrate the respective markets, strengthen cooperation and offer new opportunities for consumers and operators. more »

Mobility Programme for Business and Industry calls for applications

In order to vitalize and strengthen cooperation of business stakeholders in the region, the Nordic and Baltic countries continue running joint mobility programme. more »

EBRD and Société Générale support economies in Serbia

The EBRD is boosting the availability of financing to the real economy sector in Serbia, with a €20 million credit line to Société Générale Serbia for on-lending to small and medium enterprises. more »

Armenia’s Ameriabank receives EBRD financing

The EBRD is supporting the development of the private sector in Armenia and increases further the availability of financing in the real economy sector with a $10 million loan to Ameriabank for on lending to local companies under its Medium Sized Co-financing Facility (MCFF). more »

EBRD funds modernisation of roads in Albania

The EBRD is supporting the modernisation and improvement of transport infrastructure in Albania with a €50 million sovereign loan to finance the rehabilitation of regional and local roads in the country. more »

Latvia: Social Investment Fund III Project Second Additional Financing

Given the deep impact Latvia has suffered in the wake of the global crisis, and due to the emergency nature of this program, the first operation will focus mainly on the first and second objectives. more »

IMF Managing Director Dominique Strauss-Kahn to Visit Africa to Deepen Dialogue on the Continent’s Economic Challenges

Mr. Dominique Strauss-Kahn, Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), will visit Africa March 7-11, to discuss opportunities and challenges facing African economies in the wake of the global crisis. more »

2011 budget: focus on youth and economic recovery

Without enough money, the EU 2020 strategy risks turning into "another vague scoreboard for the Member States", the EP Budgets Committee warned on Thursday when adopting its priorities for the 2011 budget. more »