Azernews.Az

By Bloomberg

The euro climbed from a five-week low versus the dollar as consumer prices in the currency bloc fell less than analysts predicted and manufacturing output expanded, signaling economic resilience in the region.

The 19-nation currency strengthened against all of its 16 major peers as Markit Economics said its manufacturing index, based on a survey of purchasing managers, held at 51 last month. A reading above 50 indicates expansion. The pound declined as data showed U.K. house-price growth eased in February to the slowest in 17 months.

“The euro is having a bit of a relief rally,” Jeremy Stretch, head of foreign-exchange strategy at Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce in London. “We’ve seen some degree of resilience in terms of macro-economic data” and the inflation numbers “were also slightly better, or not quite as negative as the median expectations,” he said.

The euro rose 0.2 percent to $1.1220 at 8:35 a.m. New York time. It gained 0.4 percent to 134.48 yen.

The annual rate of inflation in the 19-nation bloc was minus 0.3 percent in February, according to data published by the European Union’s statistics office on Monday. Economists in a Bloomberg survey predicted a price decline of 0.4 percent after a 0.6 percent slump the previous month. Unemployment in the region fell to 11.2 percent in January, the lowest since May 2012, Luxembourg-based Eurostat said in a separate report.

U.K. home values rose 5.7 percent from a year earlier, down from 6.8 percent in January, Nationwide Building Society said in a statement on Monday. From the previous month, prices fell 0.1 percent, the first drop since September.

The pound dropped 0.3 percent to $1.5387.