The ECB had decided to leave the interest rate in the Eurozone unchanged, at a level of 0.5%. The decision was in accordance with the analysts' predictions and is aimed to allow the recovery of the continent's economy from the crisis that had been affecting it. Earlier on yesterday, the British Central bank had decided to leave the interest rate in Britain unchanged as well, at a level of 1.0%. This decision had also been in accordance with the predictions of economists, who forecast that the interest rate in Britain would remain unchanged.
In the American macroeconomic arena, last week the number of persons seeking employment rose to 445 thousand, as opposed to economists’ predictions that the number of the new unemployed in the United States would decline from 409 thousand to 405 thousand.
On the other hand, the manufacturer price index for December rose surprisingly to 1.1%, completing a 4.1% rise for 2010. The analysts had predicted a more moderate increase of 0.9%. Furthermore, the United States trade deficit for November remained unchanged, at a total of about 38.3 billion United States dollars, lower than analysts' prediction of a growth of 41 billion United States dollars.
In the global currency market, the Euro has performed a 1.7% leap today against the United States dollar, reaching a 1.3380 level. The Euro's leap has been supported by successful bond issues by European countries and signals from the ECB regarding inflationary pressures that might lead to a rise in the interest rate. The ECB further announced that there exist signs of short-term inflationary pressures, mostly brought about by energy prices.
