Wednesday, 19 June 2013 14:43
Posted by Shoaib-ur-Rehman Siddiqui
LONDON: The rise of the euro must be sending a shiver down the collective spine of euro zone policymakers as it threatens the bloc's export competitiveness just as a fragile recovery might be taking hold.Whether the euro's strengthening is a sign of actual confidence, or reflective of a wider unwinding of positions in which investors had sold the single currency against a raft of emerging market currencies, is open to debate.But the net result is a stronger euro, with the single currency firming from $1.2745 in early April to above $1.34.More strident rhetoric that could, as an indirect consequence, take some heat out of the currency's appreciation might logically be expected, even though the European Central Bank does not target a specific euro exchange rate.Indeed it may already have begun.ECB head Mario Draghi felt the need to reiterate on Tuesday that the central bank retains an open mind on whether ...