Euro Suffers From Poor GDP Data

The euro traded steadily after GDP data proved that the eurozone's recovery was fragile at best. The common currency traded at $1.3458 at 7:15 GMT on Friday morning following the release of worse than expected GDP data. The

reported that eurozone growth in the third quarters slipped to just 0.1 percent, a massive cause for concern, especially with the disappointing country by country figures. France's economy unexpectedly contracted by 0.1 percent after expanding in the second quarter and German growth slipped to 0.3 percent in the third quarter from 0.7 percent in the second quarter. The poor data kept the euro from realizing any massive gains from a weakening dollar as US Federal Reserve taper plans were pushed back to March. Janet Yellen appeared before the Senate on Thursday at a confirmation hearing in order to become the next Federal Reserve Chairman. Yellen vehemently defended the Fed's stimulus spending saying the US economy was not yet in a place where she felt comfortable reeling in the bank's bond buying plan. Yellen's comments at the Senate hearing have sparked suspicion that she will lower the Fed's unemployment target from 6.5 percent to 6 percent or below. Following the meeting, most have come to expect the bank to push back its taper plans until at least March. Moving forward the euro will likely remain under pressure in the short term as protests and rallies about the bloc's current economic state highlight the growing political and social divide among member states. However, leading economic indicators show that the region could post better fourth quarter figures as its key trading partners also exit a period of financial strain.