|
Danish crown safe after euro vote -- Central bank
REUTERS
Copenhagen, Oct 4: Fears that the Danish crown would come under pressure after the Danes' rejection of euro membership in a referendum have been exaggerated, Denmark's central bank governor was quoted on Wednesday as saying. Denmark voted last Thursday 53 to 47 per cent against membership of the European Union's single currency. "Fears of immediate pressure on the Danish crown have been exaggerated. This is of course very satisfying," the daily newspaper Politiken quoted Bodil Nyboe Andersen as saying. "We cannot conclude anything at all about what will happen in three months or one year," she added. Denmark has adhered to a fixed exchange rate regime for 18 years, first against the German mark and since January 1999 against the euro.The crown is pegged to the euro in a plus/minus 2.25 per cent fluctuation band around central parity of 7.46038. On Tuesday, the crown strengthened to 11-week highs against the euro. The Danish central bank has no inflation or money supply target but steers monetary policy for the exclusive purpose of maintaining stable exchange rates. Its monthly foreign currency reserves data released on Tuesday showed that the central bank sold foreign currencies worth the equivalent of 11.1 billion crowns ($1.31 billion) in defence of the crown in September. Thse newspaper said Mr Andersen declined to comment on the data. But the governor said the half percentage point increase in key interest rates announced the day after the euro referendum had had the desired effect. Copyright © 2000 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.
|