FRANKFURT (dpa-AFX) – On Tuesday, the euro remained close to its half-year high marked the day before. At midday, the common currency cost 1.0735 US dollars, about the same as in the morning. At the start of the week, the euro had risen to its highest level since June at $1.0761. The European Central Bank (ECB) set the reference rate at $1.0696 on Monday afternoon.
Crucial economic data are not expected on Tuesday. French industrial production figures for November, while solid this morning, followed weak October figures. Meanwhile, ECB Director Isabel Schnabel reiterated that key interest rates in the euro zone still have to rise significantly in order to bring high inflation back close to the ECB’s medium-term target of two percent.
Also in the afternoon investors are likely to comments on monetary policy regard. The Swedish central bank holds a high-level conference. Among the participants is Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell. The Federal Reserve is still battling high inflation. However, it has recently slowed its pace of tightening in the face of slightly easing inflationary pressures. The dollar suffered from this development./bgf/jsl/jha/