The euro was steady versus the dollar Friday morning in New York, hitting a two-week high before leveling off after a relatively solid U.S. jobs report.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel gave the single currency a boost overnight, telling the Bundestag that euro zone members are working toward setting up a fiscal union with rigorous budgetary oversight.
Once the treaties are altered to reflect a more disciplined approach to public spending, the European Central Bank is expected to support the region’s economy with easier monetary policy, including bond buying.
Markets stabilized this week when the Federal Reserve announced a joint operation with other central banks to provide cheaper dollars to the banking system.
The euro was holding near $1.35 after the U.S. jobs report, having touched a 2-week high of $1.3537 in early dealing.
The U.S. economy added 120,000 jobs in November, while the unemployment rate fell to 8.6 percent from 9.0 percent, the lowest level since March 2009, the Labor Department said Friday.
The euro touched a weekly high of GBP 0.8618 versus the sterling, before trimming its overnight gains ahead of the opening bell on Wall Street.
Producer price inflation in the euro area eased more than economists expected in October, data released by statistical office Eurostat showed Friday.
The producer price inflation, excluding construction, eased to 5.5 percent in October from 5.8 percent in September, which was unchanged from August.
The International Monetary Fund said that it is likely to revise downward the global economic growth forecasts in the Fund’s flagship World Economic Outlook, to be released in January next year.