FRANKFURT, Germany, Feb. 20 (UPI) -- Central banks in China and Germany displayed confidence in an improving economy with, respectively, a policy shift and a monthly bulletin.
With many market analysts optimistic Greece will receive a $172 billion bailout loan, with an announcement perhaps coming Monday, the People's Bank of China cut the reserve-requirement ration for banks, which will make more money available for lending.
After a series of moves to tighten bank requirements, the central bank in Beijing lowered its reserve-requirement ration 0.5 percentage point Saturday.
The Wall Street Journal reported Monday the Deutsche Bundesbank in Germany wrote in a monthly bulletin the forecast for the German economy had "perceptibly" improved.
Many remained cautious, given the widespread belief a $172 billion loan for Greece would buy the economy some time, but not solve its economic woes.
"Most people realize Greece's problems are far from over, and yes a default may be avoided next month, but we will continue to hear bad news from Greece and potentially from other countries in the eurozone over the next few months," said Jane Foley, a currency strategist at Rabobank in London.
The euro traded at $1.324, against Friday's $1.3144. Against the yen, the euro was at 105.38 yen compared with Friday's 104.54 yen.
