Euro Above $1.22 As Dollar Surges
The euro was steady on Wednesday morning as markets headed into a short day before the Christmas holiday. The common currency traded at $1.2202 at 9:00 GMT after U.S. data helped propel the dollar to new highs.
Tuesday was a busy day for U.S. economic releases, all of which helped build confidence in the region’s growing recovery. The Wall Street Journal reported that the nation’s GDP increased at its fastest pace in more than a decade during the third quarter, as sign that the nation is ready to stand on its own without the help of the Federal Reserve’s monetary policy. The U.S. commerce department released a report showing that U.S. GDP grew at 5 percent from July to September, up from second quarter growth of 4.6 percent. The figure also far surpassed expectations of growth between 3.9 percent and 4.3 percent.
Meanwhile, the eurozone was wracked with worry as investors were concerned about political instability in Greece, where parliamentary elections failed to elect a presidential candidate on Tuesday. A second parliamentary vote resulted in current Prime Minister Antonis Samaras’ candidate failing to gain enough votes to become the head of state which left the nation with one final vote on December 29 before heading to snap elections.
On Monday, Greek lawmakers will head to the polls for a third and final vote to determine who will take over as the nation’s head of state. If Samaras’ candidate is unable to gain the two-thirds majority needed for a win, the nation will be forced into snap elections. Many worry that a last-minute election could result in Greece exiting its bailout program earlier than expected, which could end with the nation defaulting and eventually exiting the euro.
See more from Benzinga
© 2014 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.
