This huge money printing programme has not just led to a sharp contraction in government bond yields across the eurozone, but also a sharp depreciation of the euro. That's basic economics, because if you increase the supply of an asset then buyers will simply demand a better price to compensate. The currency markets are no different, a point I made at the end of last year when I forecast the implications for a host of markets in the likely event of the ECB turning on the printing presses ('Fireworks to set markets alight', 19 Dec 2014).
In fact, the single currency has fallen by over 8 per cent against the US dollar and by 8 per cent against sterling since the start of this year. Clearly, this is good for the competitiveness of the eurozone, which has been battling to stave off the twin effects of a recessionary environment across the southern Med block and the threat of the most indebted countries falling into a debt deflation spiral.