Global use of euro currency steady in 2021: ECB

FRANKFURT (Reuters) – Global use of the euro remained stable over the past year with the shared currency holding its spot as a distant second to the dollar, a fresh study by the European Central Bank showed on Thursday.

Use of the euro outside the 19-country euro zone dropped sharply following the 2008 global financial crisis but has steadied over the past five years, with the currency holding roughly a fifth of the global market.

In the most notable change of 2021, the share of the euro in international bond issuance rose by almost 3 percentage points to 24.6% while its share in global foreign exchange reserves rose by 0.5 percentage point to 20.6%.

The share of the euro in foreign exchange settlements declined, however, as did invoicing of goods exported from the euro area.

(Reporting by Balazs Koranyi; Editing by Catherine Evans)