Barcelona is a city in Spain. The currency Barcelona uses is the Euro. There are 7 Euro notes, in denominations of 500, 200, 100, 50, 10 and 5. There are 8 Euro coins in denominations of 2 and 1 Euros and 50, 20, 10, 5, 2 and 1 cents.

The Peseta was converted to the Euro on 1st of January 2002 and it is still possible to convert the Peseta into Euros at national central banks. One Euro = 166.386 Pesetas.
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The Mexican currency (peso) dropped on concerns that demand for Mexican exports will drop, the fall in the peso came after Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke announced a deteriorating U.S. economy.

The fall in the Mexican currency wiped out early gains that were fueled by the expectation that the Mexican central bank will maintain its benchmark interest rate at 7.5% tomorrow.

Investors expect the Peso to bounce back due to the widening gap in the difference between the U.S. and Mexican interest rates, with Mexican assets looking increasingly attractive.
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The Riksbank recently raised interest rates to 4%, against expectations, sending the Swedish krona soaring higher.

The Swedish central bank explained that it has raised the interest rate by 25 basis points to combat rising inflation, adding that there were risks linked to slower economic activity and financial market turbulence.

The bank has kept its options open, by explaining that future monetary policy decisions will be based on data that is released, but did advise that interest rates are expected to remain steady for this year.

The move saw the Swedish krona rise from 6.4275 from a price of 6.4785 prior to the news release.

Gold has slipped a little lower as market players anticipate the Fed’s upcoming interest rate decision. Yesterday’s rally above $930 USD has no doubt caused some profit taking, with other investors positioning themselves in case the anticipated 50 basis point cut from the Fed does not eventuate. Investors remain uncertain as to how much assistance the US central bank will offer the struggling stock market.

Forex investors have already priced in a 50 basis point cut to the value of the USD. Investors expect a 50 basis point cut will see an increase in the value of gold, while a lesser rate cut could see a correction in the price of precious metals.
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China’s economy will grow by 10.3 percent in the first half of 2006, then slow marginally for a full-year expansion of 10 percent, the central bank said in a new report.

At the same time, inflation will climb slowly, registering 1.3 percent in the first six months of the year and 1.7 percent for the 12 months, according to the report, from the People’s Bank of China’s research bureau.

The forecasts, released over the weekend and published in the Beijing Morning Post on Monday, come despite a stream of government measures aimed at slowing the economy, following growth of 10.3 percent in the first quarter.
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The United Arab Emirates central bank has made no decision yet on diversifying its foreign exchange reserves and the current USD ratio is appropriate, the bank’s Governor Sultan Nasser Al Suweidi said yesterday.

However, he told Reuters in an interview that a shift remains the bank’s long-term objective.
“The board is making the decision but it has not taken the decision yet,” he said on the sidelines of a conference in London.
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The USD drifted higher against major rivals as dealers monitored the outlook for interest rates, while the GBP also weakened on news that a Bank of England policymaker had suddenly died.

The Euro fell to 1.2637 dollars in early European trading from 1.2659 dollars late on Wednesday in New York.

The USD climbed to 115.14 yen from 114.86 yen on Wednesday.

In Asian trading, the USD had extended losses ignited Wednesday after European Central Bank chief Jean-Claude Trichet raised expectations for further rate increases in the eurozone.
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The Swedish central bank has said it had decided to hike its leading interest rate by 0.25 percentage points, taking the repo rate to 2.25 percent to help keep a lid on inflationary pressures.

The Riksbank’s goal is to hold inflation to less than 2.0 percent. Inflation has risen over the past year and stood at 1.6 percent in May, but was projected to rise further over the next two years, the bank noted.

“To ensure an inflation rate close to target and contribute to a balanced development of the real economy, monetary policy should become gradually less expansionary,” the bank said Tuesday, motivating its decision.
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Forty percent of Japanese questioned think embattled central bank chief Toshihiko Fukui should resign over a scandal in which he invested in a controversial fund, according to a new poll.

The Bank of Japan governor has admitted keeping an investment in the fund of high-profile investor Yoshiaki Murakami, who was arrested earlier this month on allegations of insider trading.

Forty percent believe that Fukui should resign over the scandal, said a survey carried out jointly by the Yomiuri Shimbun, Japan’s best-read daily, and NTT Resonant Inc., an Internet service company.
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Japan’s government has urged the central bank to maintain zero interest rates to allow the economy to recover as fears of a slowdown in US growth battered global stock markets.

“We hope the Bank of Japan will support the economy with its monetary policies,” Chief Cabinet Secretary Shinzo Abe told reporters.
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South Korea’s central bank has raised its key interest rate in a bid to head off mounting inflationary pressure amid high oil prices and an ongoing economic expansion.
The Bank of Korea raised the June target for the inter-bank overnight call rate by 0.25 percentage points to 4.25 percent after keeping the rate unchanged for three consecutive months.
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On Thursday, June 8, Russia became the latest in the list of countries that shifted a part of its Central Bank reserves from the USD. Sergei Ignatyev, chairman of the Central Bank, said that only 50 percent of its reserves are now held in dollars, with 40 percent in Euro and the rest in GBP. Earlier it was believed that just 25-30 percent of Russia’s reserves were held in Euros, with virtually all the rest held in dollars.
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New Zealand’s central bank has kept its official interest rate steady at 7.25 percent despite slowing economic growth, citing a worse-than-expected outlook for inflation.

Rising oil prices and a declining New Zealand dollar (NZD) is expected to see inflation rise to 3.9 percent this quarter, Reserve Bank governor Alan Bollard said. Earlier forecasts had seen inflation peaking at 3.4 percent.
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To the surprise of us and almost everybody in the financial markets, the Central Bank (CB) raised its main policy interest rate by 175 bps to 15%. The average expectation for the rate increase in the market was around 50-75 bps, while we were not expecting anything more than 50bps.

In the accompanying short note, the CB said that the annual inflation shifted above the path that is compatible with the year-end inflation target of 5%, following very high inflation readings in April and May. The CB also acknowledged that the increases in the Forex rates due to the turmoil in the financial markets could temporarily push the annual inflation rates higher than its current levels.
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Bank of England (BoE) policymakers are predicted to maintain British interest rates at 4.50 percent on Thursday for the 10th month in a row.

The decision-making body of the BoE, the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC), will likely freeze the “repo” rate, at which the central bank lends to commercial banks, according to a poll of 35 forecasters by AFP’s financial news service AFX News.
However, economists are speculating that the cost of borrowing could rise as soon as August to keep inflation in check.
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