The Czech currency is currently the strongest against the euro in almost 15 years and against the dollar for over a year. Against the euro on Wednesday, it strengthened by 15 pennies to 23.34 CZK / EUR, the lowest rate since the end of July 2008.
Against the dollar, the crown improved by 27 pennies to 21.26 CZK / USD. It was last stronger against the US currency in February last year. This follows from data on the Patria Online server.
The crown has been gradually strengthening against both main world currencies since last autumn, when the rate to the euro was almost 24.70 CZK / EUR, and the rate to the dollar was even over 25.70 CZK / USD.
In February of this year, the crown reached its most robust rate against the euro since the summer of 2008. In the first half of March of this year, the Czech currency recorded a short-term weakening against the euro and the dollar, but it has been strengthening again in recent weeks.
Strong crown hits exporters
The Czech Labor Office published data on unemployment, according to which the share of people without jobs in the Czech Republic fell by two-tenths of a percentage point to 3.7 percent in March compared to February. Before that, it had been rising or stagnant for eight months.
“The crown has been strengthening independently of changes in sentiment in the world since morning. The decline in domestic unemployment should not be a big boost to the market. Nevertheless, the crown managed to erase yesterday’s (Tuesday’s) losses against the euro,” said Patria Finance analyst Tomas Vlk regarding the exchange rate development.