Sterling hits 19 month high against the euro
After a long period of relative weakness, sterling has today continued its climb against the euro hitting a 19 month high on the currency exchanges before succumbing to profit taking. It would appear that concerns are growing with regards to the strength of the euro zone and specific debt issues relating to various member countries. Despite a number of very upbeat statements from the EU, regarding the euro zone, there is real fear of an economic slowdown which could infect other areas of the world, including the UK.
Earlier this week we saw bankers in America commenting upon the US economy and airing some concerns that "problems overseas" could at some stage impact on the US economic recovery. While this does show the power of the euro zone, the very fact that the US authorities are monitoring this very carefully, it does also reflect growing concern around the world. There are still some sceptics who believe that the euro zone is dead in the water and is unlikely to be a long-term element of the worldwide economy. Whether this is true or not remains to be seen but nobody was commenting upon the decline in the euro zone just 12 months ago when countries and economies such as the UK came in for much ridicule.
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