The central bank has been loosening its monetary polices in an attempt to lift a stubbornly low inflation level, which currently sits at 0.5%, below the ECB’s target of just below 2%.
With the ECB’s commitment to looser monetary policies to support economic growth, European stocks have also strengthened. The Vanguard FTSE Europe ETF (NYSEArca: VGK) was up 0.5% Thursday. Meanwhile, the WisdomTree Europe Hedged Equity Fund (NYSEArca: HEDJ), which diminishes the negative effects of a depreciating euro currency, was up 1.2% Thursday. Year-to-date, VGK is up 6.2% while HEDJ gained 5.9%.
CurrencyShares Euro Currency Trust
For more information on the Eurozone, visit our Europe category.
Tom Lydon’s clients own shares of HEDJ.