Euro On A High As Global Economy Stabalizes

The euro worked its way towards $1.38 on Tuesday morning after Monday's data confirmed that the global economy was on the mend. The common currency traded at $1.3752 at 5:15 GMT on Tuesday as investors looked to strong data from China and the US as a sign of improvement.

China's export data for November easily beat analysts' expectations and boosted investors' confidence that the nation's economy was stabilizing. Fears that the Chinese central bank would tighten its monetary policy were also calmed after China's annual consumer inflation figures came in unexpectedly lower on Monday. Positive US labor data helped support markets, however gains were limited as most saw the better than expected figures as adding to the Federal Reserve's case to begin tapering.

reported that Federal Reserve board members who spoke on Monday about the Fed's taper plans were mixed in their guidance for investors. James Bullard said the bank could begin to cut down on its stimulus spending as early as next week while Richard Fisher took a more aggressive stance saying he believes the bank should begin to taper at the December meeting. Jeffery Lacker had a more cautious tone and said the risk of pulling back on the bank's stimulus spending outweigh the benefits. Even with the improved labor market data, the majority of analysts don't expect the bank to begin tapering until March although some have begun to consider the possibility of a January or even December pull back. Moving forward investors will also be focused on the eurozone's finance ministers, who are set to meet this week to try to iron out the details of the bloc's banking union before the new year.