EUR/USD
According to blue economic news from Spain this morning, the number of unemployed rose by 1.2 per cent in February, piercing the 5 million limit. Data revealed that the number of unemployed people in Spain increased less than what was expected in February, rising by 59,400 after a 132,100 upsurge the in January. Most analysts anticipated the total number of jobless to increase by 77,500 in February.
The relatively positive news helped the euro to cut losses against the USD on Monday, as market sentiment became slightly more receptive to optimistic sentiments. However, U.S. budget anxieties continued to influence investor buoyancy.
EUR/USD came back from 1.2987 to mark 1.3012 during European morning trade.
USD/JPY
The JPY continued to be under pressure following Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s decision to nominate Haruhiko Kuroda, an advocate of severe monetary easing, to substitute present Bank of Japan governor Masaaki Shirakawa. Meanwhile, the USD found support after $85 billion of pre-agreed spending cuts, better known as sequestration, took effect on Friday as policymakers were unable to agree on policies to deal with the country’s massive budget deficit.
The USD was stable against the JPY on Monday as hopes for additional monetary easing procedures by Japan kept influencing demand for the yen. USD/JPY reached 93.72 during European morning trade and consequently consolidated at 93.56, rising 0.04 per cent.