Euro gains damp break-up talk as Merkel's jobs show strength

ermany is providing the engine for changing perceptions after the euro, which depreciated 14 per cent against the dollar in the first five months of the year, helped drive up exports 11.4 per cent to 80.8 billion euros ($US102 billion) in the same period.

Executives from Bayerische Motoren Werke AG, Volkswagen AG's Audi unit and Siemens AG credit the currency's decline from its 16-month high of $US1.5144 in November for boosting competitiveness and making revenue earned overseas worth more when they bring it home.

BMW in Munich, Daimler AG in Stuttgart and Audi in Ingolstadt say they are adding staff and reducing summer breaks to keep up with demand that exceeded plans. Sales at BMW, world's biggest luxury-auto maker, rose 11 per cent in May, the month when the euro's 7.43 per cent decline against the dollar was the most since tumbling 8.29 per cent in January 2009.

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