Euro

This article is about the currency. For other uses, see Euro (disambiguation). "EUR" redirects here. For other uses, see EUR (disambiguation).

Euro
see also euro in various languages
Euro banknotes1 euro coin
ISO 4217
CodeEUR (numeric: 978)
Subunit0.01
Unit
Uniteuro
PluralVaries, see language and the euro
Symbol€‎
NicknameThe single currency[a]
Denominations
Subunit
 1⁄100euro cent
(Name varies by language)
Plural
 euro cent(Varies by language)
Symbol
 euro centc
Banknotes
 Freq. used€5, €10, €20, €50, €100, €200[2]
 Rarely used€500[2]
Coins
 Freq. used1c, 2c, 5c, 10c, 20c, 50c, €1, €2
 Rarely used1c, 2c (Belgium, Finland, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, Slovakia[3][4])
Demographics
Date of introduction1 January 1999; 25 years ago (1999-01-01)
ReplacedEuropean Currency Unit
User(s)primary: § members of Eurozone (20),
also: § other users
Issuance
Central bankEuropean Central Bank
 Websitewww.ecb.europa.eu
Printersee § Banknote printing
MintList of mints
Valuation
Inflation2.0% (October 2024)[5]
 Sourceec.europa.eu
 MethodHICP
Pegged bysee § Pegged currencies
Euro Monetary policy
  Euro Zone inflation year/year
  M3 money supply increases
  Marginal Lending Facility
  Main Refinancing Operations
  Deposit Facility Rate
  Euribor

The euro (symbol: €; currency code: EUR) is the official currency of 20 of the 27 member states of the European Union. This group of states is officially known as the euro area or, more commonly, the eurozone. The euro is divided into 100 euro cents.[6][7]

The currency is also used officially by the institutions of the European Union, by four European microstates that are not EU members,[7] the British Overseas Territory of Akrotiri and Dhekelia, as well as unilaterally by Montenegro and Kosovo. Outside Europe, a number of special territories of EU members also use the euro as their currency. Additionally, over 200 million people worldwide use currencies pegged to the euro.

The euro is the second-largest reserve currency as well as the second-most traded currency in the world after the United States dollar.[8][9][10][11][12] As of December 2019, with more than €1.3 trillion in circulation, the euro has one of the highest combined values of banknotes and coins in circulation in the world.[13][14]

The name euro was officially adopted on 16 December 1995 in Madrid.[15] The euro was introduced to world financial markets as an accounting currency on 1 January 1999, replacing the former European Currency Unit (ECU) at a ratio of 1:1 (US$1.1743 at the time). Physical euro coins and banknotes entered into circulation on 1 January 2002, making it the day-to-day operating currency of its original members, and by March 2002 it had completely replaced the former currencies.[16]

Between December 1999 and December 2002, the euro traded below the US dollar, but has since traded near parity with or above the US dollar, peaking at US$1.60 on 18 July 2008 and since then returning near to its original issue rate. On 13 July 2022, the two currencies hit parity for the first time in nearly two decades due in part to the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine.[17] Then, in September 2022, the US dollar again had a face value higher than the Euro, at around US dollar 0.95 per euro.[18][19]

  1. ^ "Council Regulation (EC) No 1103/97 of 17 June 1997 on certain provisions relating to the introduction of the euro". Official Journal L 162, 19 June 1997 P. 0001 – 0003. European Communities. 19 June 1997. Retrieved 1 April 2009.
  2. ^ a b "ECB Statistical Data Warehouse, Reports>ECB/Eurosystem policy>Banknotes and coins statistics>1.Euro banknotes>1.1 Quantities". European Central Bank.
  3. ^ Walsh, Alistair (29 May 2017). "Italy to stop producing 1- and 2-cent coins". Deutsche Welle. Retrieved 4 November 2019.
  4. ^ "Po 1. júli 2022 budú končiť na Slovensku jedno a dvojcentové mince". bystricoviny.sk (in Slovak). 29 May 2017. Retrieved 17 December 2023.
  5. ^ "Inflation and consumer prices".
  6. ^ "The euro". European Commission website. Retrieved 2 January 2019.
  7. ^ a b "What is the euro area?". European Commission website. Retrieved 2 January 2019.
  8. ^ "IMF Data – Currency Composition of Official Foreign Exchange Reserve – At a Glance". International Monetary Fund. 23 December 2022. Retrieved 11 January 2023.
  9. ^ "Foreign exchange turnover in April 2013: preliminary global results" (PDF). Bank for International Settlements. Retrieved 7 February 2015.
  10. ^ "Triennial Central Bank Survey 2007" (PDF). BIS. 19 December 2007. Retrieved 25 July 2009.
  11. ^ Aristovnik, Aleksander; Čeč, Tanja (30 March 2010). "Compositional Analysis of Foreign Currency Reserves in the 1999–2007 Period. The Euro vs. The Dollar As Leading Reserve Currency" (PDF). Munich Personal RePEc Archive, Paper No. 14350. Retrieved 27 December 2010.
  12. ^ Boesler, Matthew (11 November 2013). "There Are Only Two Real Threats to the US Dollar's Status As The International Reserve Currency". Business Insider. Retrieved 8 December 2013.
  13. ^ "1.2 Euro banknotes, values". European Central Bank Statistical Data Warehouse. 14 January 2020. Retrieved 23 January 2020.
  14. ^ "2.2 Euro coins, values". European Central Bank Statistical Data Warehouse. 14 January 2020. Retrieved 23 January 2020.
  15. ^ "Madrid European Council (12/95): Conclusions". European Parliament. Retrieved 14 February 2009.
  16. ^ "Initial changeover (2002)". European Central Bank. Retrieved 5 March 2011.
  17. ^ "Euro Falls Near Parity With Dollar, a Threshold Watched Closely by Investors". The New York Times. 12 July 2022. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 13 July 2022.
  18. ^ "Euro fällt zum US-Dollar auf 20-Jahrestief". Der Spiegel (in German). 23 September 2022. ISSN 2195-1349. Retrieved 10 July 2024.
  19. ^ "Euro (EUR) To US Dollar (USD) Exchange Rate History for 2022". www.exchange-rates.org. Retrieved 10 July 2024.


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