Euro Holds Steady

Spurred on by a euro zone economy that saw its fastest growth in six years, the euro held steady against the dollar and rose versus the yen. The change in the euro zone economy seems to come from the gathering strength of the German and French economies. Data for individual countries in the EU showed that Germany's economy accelerated at its fastest rate in over five years during the second quarter. The French economy showed similar signs of recovery as its second quarter numbers marked the fastest growth in nearly six years.

Holding steady against the dollar was a positive sign considering the fact that strong U.S. retail sales drove the dollar to its highest level against the yen in more than two weeks and hinted at a possible raise in interest rates by the Federal Reserve.

According to Westpac's currency strategist Geoff Kendrick "The market is not fully priced yet for October, but the data has been pretty solid and the fact that the ECB has now upped the ante to a two-month spacing suggests they will probably do that going forward."

Investors are anticipating a raise in interest rates from the ECB at least once more this year. This would follow a 3 percent increase in August.