The European Single Currency, euro rose 0.38 percent to $1.2054 and hit a four-month high on Tuesday, December 2, after data showed that euro zone manufacturers ramped up activity last month at the fastest pace in more than two decades.
The euro has been on a tear especially since the second half of last year, on optimism over a brightening economic picture in the euro zone.
In 2017, the single currency posted its strongest year against the dollar since 2003 as European economies strengthened and expectations grew that the ECB will wind down monetary stimulus.
The euro EUR= added more gains to start the new year, climbing to a nearly four-month high of $1.2082. It was last up 0.2 percent at $1.2033.
Euro zone manufacturers ended 2017 by ramping up activity at the fastest pace in more than two decades, a survey showed on Tuesday, and rising demand suggests they will start the new year on a high.
The European Central Bank’s Benoit Coeure said on the weekend he saw a “reasonable chance” the bank’s bond purchases would not be extended beyond September
The dollar index, tracking the greenback against a basket of major currencies, fell 0.32 percent. It was hampered by market expectations of a slower pace of interest rate increases by the Federal Reserve amid a tepid U.S. inflation picture.
The Japanese yen strengthened 0.45 percent versus the greenback at 112.16 per dollar, while sterling was last trading at $1.3587, up 0.64 percent on the day.
