Investing.com - Germany's unemployment rate held steady at a record low, bolstering optimism over the health of the euro zone's largest economy, official data showed on Wednesday.
In a report, Germany's Federal Statistics Office said its jobless rate clocked in at a seasonally adjusted 5.5% in December. That beat expectations for it to hold steady at the initial reading of 5.6% in November.
However, the prior month’s data was also revised lower to 5.5%
Additionally, the number of unemployed people fell by a seasonally adjusted 29,000 in December from a month earlier, compared to forecasts for a drop of 12,000. Jobless claims fell by 20,000 in November which was revised from an initial decline of 18,000.
Immediately following the report, EUR/USD was trading at 1.2041 compared to 1.2042 ahead of the release, while EUR/GBP was at 0.8858, compared to 0.8859 earlier.
Meanwhile, European stock markets traded mostly higher in early morning trade. Germany's DAX gained 0.47%, the benchmark Euro Stoxx 50 rose 0.38%, France’s CAC 40 advanced 0.31%, while London’s FTSE 100 slipped 0.04%.