Euro gains after ECB action

Euro gains after ECB action

Story link: Euro gains after ECB action

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The euro gained value Thursday after the European Central Bank cut interest rates by a quarter of a percentage point to 1.25 percent, less than the half a percentage point decline expected by most analysts.

At around 11:30 a.m. in New York, it took $1.345 to buy a euro while the yen traded at ¥133.887 to the shared currency.

Interest rates in the Eurozone are three full percentage points lower than they were in October.

The pound, meanwhile, gained on the US dollar after a report from Nationwide Building Society that said the average price of a house in the UK was up 0.9 percent in March from February, the first increase in nearly a year and a half.

The average price of a house rose to £150,946 against an expected continuation of price declines.

In late morning trade, the pound traded at 91.3p to the euro while it took $1.4664 to buy a pound.

The higher house prices and a gain in equities markets made it look as if contractions in the UK economy could be slowing down..

The Swiss franc weakened after the Swiss National Bank said it will continue to intervene to keep the currency from gaining value and on the ECB’s smaller-than-expected rate cut.

At late morning in New York, the Swiss currency traded at SFr1.5248 to the euro while it was at SFr1.1337 to the greenback.

The yen was also weaker as risk appetite returned as equities markets saw gains, with the Japanese currency trading at ¥99.545 to the US dollar shortly before noon in New York.