HISTORICAL EVENTS IN THE FX MARKET
HISTORICAL EVENTS IN THE FX MARKET INTRODUCTION OF THE EURO (1999) ____________________________________________________ The introduction of the euro was a monumental achievement, marking the largest monetary changeover ever. The euro was officially launched as an electronic trading currency on January 1, 1999. The 11 initial member states of the European Monetary Union (EMU) were: Belgium, Germany, Spain, France, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Austria, Portugal, and Finland. Greece joined two years later. Each country fixed its currency to a specific conversion rate against the euro, and a common monetary policy governed by the European Central Bank (ECB) was adopted. To many economists, the system would ideally include all of the original 15 European Union (EU) nations, but the United Kingdom, Sweden, and Den mark decided to keep their own currencies for the time being. Euro notes and coins did not begin circulation until the first two months of