GERMANY: EURO CURRENCY DROPS TO NEW LOW

Описание: (3 Dec 1999) English/Nat

There was little alarm after the euro sank below one dollar for the first time on Friday, and analysts suggested further declines were still to come for Europe's fledgling single currency.

The euro, which first fell below parity with the dollar on Thursday, dropped to a new low of 99-point-9 U-S cents on Friday in Tokyo, then rose to 1.0016 U-S dollars in afternoon trading in Europe.

The currency's troubles came less than a year after the it was launched by eleven European countries.

Europe's bankers did not seem worried on Friday as the euro fell below the one dollar mark for the first time.

And at the traditional Christmas market in the German city of Frankfurt shoppers seemed to hold the same opinion.

SOUNDBITE: (English)
"I still keep (think) in Deutschmarks and I don't think about changing to the euro now, because I think it may stay stable for a little while and I don't think it's fundamentally weak."
SUPER CAPTION: Vox Pop

Analysts say that they had foreseen the drop and that in the long term they expect the euro to recover.

They see the fluctuations as normal in the international currency markets.

SOUNDBITE: (English)
"It's no catastrophe and in some respects it was expected because we couldn't expect after the statement of the E-C-B (European Central Bank) president Duisenberg yesterday that he is not concerned with the recovery of the euro. So it was in some respects expected that the euro would fluctuate about the parity."
SUPER CAPTION: Dr Hans-Juergen Meltzer, Deutsche Bank Research

Economists think that if the price of oil continues to rise it could have an effect on the rates.

SOUNDBITE: (English)
"As a matter of fact however if the rising oil price would continue to over 25 dollars to go to 30 dollars perhaps and this combination of a weak euro would bring increased risk for stability, this is true and so far to mind the likelihood is given that Duisenberg has to intervene if the euro drops to below parity."
SUPER CAPTION: Dr Hans-Juergen Meltzer, Deutsche Bank Research

The euro was launched in January this year and adopted by eleven European countries as their common currency.

Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork
Twitter:   / ap_archive  
Facebook:   / aparchives   ​​
Instagram:   / apnews  


You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/you...