Euro Strong Following Uneventful ECB Meeting

The euro was steady above $1.36 to finish the week after the European Central Bank elected to maintain its current interest rate at its policy meeting on Thursday. The common currency hit five week highs early on Friday as the dollar treaded water ahead of the release of new jobs data, due out later in the day. Related: #PreMarket Primer: Friday, December, 6: US GDP Could Be A Facade The ECB decided to keep its interest rate at a record low of 0.25 percent as well as holding off on reducing its main deposit rate. At a press conference following the meeting, The Wall Street Journal reported that ECB President Mario Draghi reassured investors that further stimulus measures were not imminent. Draghi also indicated that the decision to maintain current policies was an easy one and reiterated that the bank planned to maintain its accommodative stance for an “extended period." Moving forward, eurozone finance ministers are expected to meet in Berlin on Friday to discuss the region's planned banking union. The bloc needs to agree on the terms and the implementation of a resolution mechanism which would help failing banks. The finance ministers will likely discuss who will have final say over the resolution mechanism, as that has been the main point of contention. With so many countries all with different ideas of how the banking union should come together, most expect the group will not be able to reach an agreement by the end of 2013, as the EU originally expected. However, any forward progress is gratefully accepted as the banking union is considered by most as a vital step in preventing another financial crisis.