Euro rates rise

The European Central Bank has raised interest rates by one-half-of-one-percent to five-and-a-quarter percent, reflecting the strong economic growth in the eleven countries that share the euro currency.

Figures for April showed a further fall in German unemployment, with industrial output growing faster than expected.

The BBC Europe business correspondent says the prospect of a rate rise, together with increasingly positive economic statistics across the euro zone, have helped boost the euro currency to a seven week high against the US dollar.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service