The US dollar hit a three year high against the other major currencies including the pound sterling and the Japanese Yen ahead of the publication of the minutes from the last US Federal Reserve policy meeting.
With the publication of stronger than expected US employment data out last Friday, analysts are increasingly predicting that the Fed will start to unwind its stimulus measures later this year in stark contrast to many other central banks.
Meanwhile, the euro fell to a three-month low against the dollar after credit ratings agency Standard & Poor's reduced Italy's sovereign credit rating. Analysts also noted the comments from European Central Bank policymaker Joerg Asmussen that the ECB is looking to keep euro zone interest rates at their current record low level for more than 12 months.
In its latest annual assessment of the euro zone, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) urged the region to clean up its banking system and warned that more effort was needed to promote the economic recovery.
“While substantial collective action has been taken to tackle the crisis in the euro area, further policy steps are needed to support growth and increase employment,” the Fund said in a statement.
The IMF also updated its World Economic Outlook [WEO] yesterday cutting its projections for economic growth worldwide for both 2013 and 2014 due primarily to the lower growth path now forecast for several key emerging economies.
The IMF now sees world economic activity expanding this year by just 3.1% and by 3.8% in 2014, down by 0.2% in both cases from the previous forecast due largely to “appreciably weaker domestic demand and slower growth in several key emerging market economies,” such as Russia, China, Brazil and South Africa.
By contrast, the IMF have raised the outlook for the UK economy by 0.3% to 0.9% in 2013 and to 1.5% in 2014.
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