The latest economic news out of the eurozone has proved disappointing. For the second quarter, there has been a decline in employment, and that has many questioning the sustainability of the burgeoning economic recovery in the 17-nation currency region.
Second quarter eurozone employment data has disappointed economists and Forex traders. Eurostat reports that the number of people with work fell 0.1 per cent from the first quarter of 2013 to the second quarter. Year over year, employment in the second quarter was down by 1.0 per cent.
The employment commissioner, Laszlo Andor, insists that the drop isn’t that big of a deal, since it marks a slowdown in the rate of decline. He expects that job creation will pick up soon. However, there are concerns amongst the business community that the eurozone economic recovery still isn’t sustainable.
Concerns about the recovery will not only affect the recovery itself, but it is also leading to speculation that the European Central Bank will have little choice but to cut rates next month in order to help boost the economic recovery. There are still concerns about the PIIGs and that has some worries about the fate of the euro.
At 14:18 GMT EUR/USD is down to 1.3268 from the open at 1.3299. EUR/GBP is down to 0.8367 from the open at 0.8414. EUR/JPY is down to 132.0410 from the open at 132.3725.
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