China's economic aggregate ranks third in the world

The euro rallied sharply versus major rivals Tuesday in New York as global stocks gained, adding to risk appetite. The European currency moved to an 8 1/2-month high against the struggling dollar and also hit near-term bests against the yen and pound.

German exports increased for the third month in a row in August on rising global demand. The better-than-expected export growth helped the trade surplus to increase surprisingly, strengthening recovery hopes.

The euro surged to 1.4534 against the dollar, its highest level since mid-December. The greenback saw notable weakness across the board.

Former Federal Reserve Bank Chairman Alan Greenspan said Monday that banks in the U.S. need to hold more capital on their balance sheets and that the liquidity infused into financial systems by the world's central banks poses an inflation threat.

The euro climbed to a six-day high of 0.8787 versus the British pound. The rise took the European currency away from a 10-day low of 0.8703 from last week.

UK's Office for National Statistics report showed that manufacturing output grew 0.9% in July from June. Economists had expected only 0.3% monthly increase for July. Meanwhile, industrial output recorded a monthly rise of 0.5% in July.

The euro inched up to a weekly high of 133.85 against the Japanese yen. The European currency has been trending to the upside since late last week.

Japan's current account surplus narrowed in July from the previous year, mainly due to a fall in the income surplus and the widening of the services deficit, an official report showed today. The Ministry of Finance said the current account surplus dropped 19.4% year-on-year to 1.26 trillion yen from 1.57 trillion yen in the previous year. The surplus was also lower than 1.45 trillion yen surplus estimated by economists, although it increased from June's surplus of 1.15 trillion yen.

In Germany, exports rose by a calendar and seasonally adjusted 2.3% month-on-month in July, slower than a downwardly revised 6.1% increase in June, but larger than the 1.2% rise expected by economists. Annually, exports slipped 18.7% to EUR 70.5 billion.

Meanwhile, German industrial output dropped 0.9% month-on-month in July, the Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology said Tuesday. That was the first fall in three months.