Reference metadata describe statistical concepts and methodologies used for the collection and generation of data. They provide information on data quality and, since they are strongly content-oriented, assist users in interpreting the data. Reference metadata, unlike structural metadata, can be decoupled from the data.
Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union
1.2. Contact organisation unit
C.1: National accounts methodology; Standards and indicators
1.3. Contact name
Restricted from publication
1.4. Contact person function
Restricted from publication
1.5. Contact mail address
5, Rue Alphonse Weicker, 2721 Luxembourg
1.6. Contact email address
Restricted from publication
1.7. Contact phone number
Restricted from publication
1.8. Contact fax number
Restricted from publication
2.1. Metadata last certified
2 March 2023
2.2. Metadata last posted
2 March 2023
2.3. Metadata last update
2 March 2023
3.1. Data description
The presented data comprise exchange rates against the euro (from 1 January 1999), and against the ECU (up to 31 December 1998): average and end of the period rates.
Important notice:
The ECB has stopped the publication of a reference rate for the rouble until further notice, see ECB website.
Owing to current trading activity in the EUR/RUB market, the European Central Bank (ECB) is not in a position to set a reference rate that is representative of prevailing market conditions. The ECB has therefore decided to suspend its publication of a euro reference rate for the Russian rouble until further notice. The ECB last published a EUR/RUB reference rate on 1 March 2022.
3.2. Classification system
National Currency: EUR
3.3. Coverage - sector
Not applicable
3.4. Statistical concepts and definitions
The ECU, a basket of EU currencies, was replaced by the euro at a rate of 1 : 1 on 1 January 1999. From that date, the currencies of the euro-area became sub-divisions of the euro at irrevocably fixed rates of conversion.
Please see in section Related metadata, the metadata on conversion factors which enable euro fixed series to be converted into euro/ECU series, and vice-versa.
Prior to 1979 the exchange rates refer to the European Unit of Account (EUA) and not the ECU. However, the ECU's value and composition when it was introduced, was identical to that of the EUA. The EUA officially came into existence on 28th June 1974, when it was equal to 1 SDR (Special Drawing Right).
The euro exchange rate series are reference rates published by the ECB and the Bundesbank. The exchange rates for Albania, North Macedonia, and Serbia are provided by the respective national central bank. The exchange rate of Bosnia and Herzegovina is fixed against the euro. Montenegro and Kosovo, not shown in the table, both use the euro as their currency.
3.5. Statistical unit
Not applicable
3.6. Statistical population
Not applicable
3.7. Reference area
Non euro-area European Union member states, EFTA countries, EU enlargement countries, other countries.
3.8. Coverage - Time
Exchange rates against the Euro/ECU: Daily rates are available for the ECU from 1 July 1974 to 31 December 1998 and EUR from 4 January 1999, against a large number of currencies. However, monthly average series starts in January 1971: from that date until June 1974 these are theoretical EUA rates based on the EUA basket.
3.9. Base period
Not applicable.
Units of ECU/euro and national currency
Generally, the period average data are the average of the business day rates. The period end rate is the daily rate of the last business day of the period. However, the daily series for Iceland until end-2008 include weekends. The period averages for the North Macedonian denar differ from those published by the national central bank, as the latter include weekends and public holidays.
From January 1971 until June 1974 the monthly average series are theoretical rates based on the EUA currency basket. The rates vary according to changes in the market value of the component currencies. The annual averages for 1971-1974 are an average of the 12 monthly rates.
6.1. Institutional Mandate - legal acts and other agreements
Council Regulation (EC) No 1478/2000 of 19 June 2000 amending Regulation (EC) No 2866/98 on the conversion rates between the euro and the currencies of the Member States adopting the euro.
6.2. Institutional Mandate - data sharing
Not applicable
7.1. Confidentiality - policy
Regulation (EC) No 223/2009 on European statistics (recital 24 and Article 20(4)) of 11 March 2009 (OJ L 87, p. 164), stipulates the need to establish common principles and guidelines ensuring the confidentiality of data used for the production of European statistics and the access to those confidential data with due account for technical developments and the requirements of users in a democratic society.
7.2. Confidentiality - data treatment
Not applicable
8.1. Release calendar
The ECB applies the following rules for the euro reference rates:
The reference rates are usually updated around 16:00 CET on every working day, except on TARGET closing days. They are based on a regular daily concertation procedure between central banks across Europe, which normally takes place at 14:15 CET. They are then published on the ECBs website.
Only one reference exchange rate (i.e. the mid-rate) is published for each currency, using the “certain” method (i.e. 1 euro = x foreign currency units).
There are available release calendars in national central banks and in the Bundesbank websites.
The euro area national central banks may publish more comprehensive lists of euro reference exchange rates than that published by the ECB.
In line with the Community legal framework and the European Statistics Code of Practice Eurostat disseminates European statistics on Eurostat’s website (see item 10 – Accessibility and clarity) respecting professional independence and in an objective, professional and transparent manner in which all users are treated equitably. The detailed arrangements are governed by the Eurostat protocol on impartial access to Eurostat data for users.
An analysis of the web traffic shows that exchange rate pages are mainly visited and that bilateral euro exchange rates data are largely extracted.
Internal users commonly use the statistics as input for analysis and calculation of European and EU aggregates according to the 2020 user survey conducted by unit C2.
12.2. Relevance - User Satisfaction
The quality of information provided and data availability have been overall judged satisfactory by users according to the 2020 user survey conducted by unit C2.
12.3. Completeness
Daily data start in 2001. Data cover only periods with convertible currencies.
13.1. Accuracy - overall
Exchange rates are not revised.
13.2. Sampling error
Not applicable
13.3. Non-sampling error
Not applicable
14.1. Timeliness
The exchange rates provided by the ECB are updated every business day and generally published within 2 days (t+2). For Albania, Serbia and North Macedonia the exchange rates are available within a week from the end of the month.
14.2. Punctuality
Data are generally transmitted in due time.
15.1. Comparability - geographical
Full comparability for most currencies
15.2. Comparability - over time
Full comparability for most of the time series
15.3. Coherence - cross domain
Full comparability for all Eurostat domains as they use identical data sources.
15.4. Coherence - internal
Not applicable
Only the European Central Bank, the Bundesbank and the national central banks are involved in the data collection. There are no other reporting agents.
17.1. Data revision - policy
All data disseminated consist of data already disseminated by the ECB. The revision policy is therefore effectively the revision policy applied by the ECB.
17.2. Data revision - practice
The revision practice effectively corresponds to the revision practice of the ECB. Because of the nature of the data, ECB normally revises the data in case of error correction, which happen rarely, since errors are extremely infrequent.
18.1. Source data
Data are taken from the European system of central banks or other natonal central banks. Until 31 December 1998 these exchange rates refer to the ECU and the source was the European Commission.
18.2. Frequency of data collection
Daily, monthly, quarterly, yearly.
18.3. Data collection
Code
Currency
Data source
BGN
Bulgarian lev
ECB
CZK
Czech koruna
ECB
DKK
Danish krone
ECB
HUF
Hungarian forint
ECB
PLN
Polish zloty
ECB
RON
Romanian leu
ECB
SEK
Swedish krona
ECB
CHF
Swiss franc
ECB
ISK
Icelandic krona
ECB
NOK
Norwegian krone
ECB
GBP
Pound sterling
ECB
ALL
Albanian lek
National Central Bank
MKD
Denar (of North Macedonia)
National Central Bank
RSD
Serbian dinar
National Central Bank
TRY
Turkish lira
ECB
ARS
Argentine peso
ECB *
AUD
Australian dollar
ECB
BAM
Bosnia and Herzegovina convertible mark
ECB
BRL
Brazilian real
ECB
CAD
Canadian dollar
ECB
CNY
Chinese renminbi-yuan
ECB
HKD
Hong Kong dollar
ECB
IDR
Indonesian rupiah
ECB
ILS
Israeli shekel
ECB
INR
Indian rupee
ECB
JPY
Japanese yen
ECB
KRW
South Korean won
ECB
MXN
Mexican peso
ECB
MYR
Malaysian ringgit
ECB
NZD
New Zealand dollar
ECB
PHP
Philippine peso
ECB
RUB
Russian rouble
ECB
SGD
Singapore dollar
ECB
THB
Thai baht
ECB
TWD
New Taiwan dollar
ECB *
USD
US dollar
ECB
ZAR
South African rand
ECB
For all other countries, data are directly downloaded from the Bundesbank database.
* Source data: ECB until 2019, Bundesbank from 2020
18.4. Data validation
The European Central Bank, the Bundesbank and the national central banks perform all necessary checks.
18.5. Data compilation
Not applicable
18.6. Adjustment
Not applicable
In order to derive a continuous time series in a former national currency from the relevant series in ECU/euro, the data in euro should be converted at the fixed conversion rate for the period after the adoption of the euro.
ert_bil_conv_esms - Conversion factors for euro fixed series into euro/ECU
The presented data comprise exchange rates against the euro (from 1 January 1999), and against the ECU (up to 31 December 1998): average and end of the period rates.
Important notice:
The ECB has stopped the publication of a reference rate for the rouble until further notice, see ECB website.
Owing to current trading activity in the EUR/RUB market, the European Central Bank (ECB) is not in a position to set a reference rate that is representative of prevailing market conditions. The ECB has therefore decided to suspend its publication of a euro reference rate for the Russian rouble until further notice. The ECB last published a EUR/RUB reference rate on 1 March 2022.
2 March 2023
The ECU, a basket of EU currencies, was replaced by the euro at a rate of 1 : 1 on 1 January 1999. From that date, the currencies of the euro-area became sub-divisions of the euro at irrevocably fixed rates of conversion.
Please see in section Related metadata, the metadata on conversion factors which enable euro fixed series to be converted into euro/ECU series, and vice-versa.
Prior to 1979 the exchange rates refer to the European Unit of Account (EUA) and not the ECU. However, the ECU's value and composition when it was introduced, was identical to that of the EUA. The EUA officially came into existence on 28th June 1974, when it was equal to 1 SDR (Special Drawing Right).
The euro exchange rate series are reference rates published by the ECB and the Bundesbank. The exchange rates for Albania, North Macedonia, and Serbia are provided by the respective national central bank. The exchange rate of Bosnia and Herzegovina is fixed against the euro. Montenegro and Kosovo, not shown in the table, both use the euro as their currency.
Not applicable
Not applicable
Non euro-area European Union member states, EFTA countries, EU enlargement countries, other countries.
Generally, the period average data are the average of the business day rates. The period end rate is the daily rate of the last business day of the period. However, the daily series for Iceland until end-2008 include weekends. The period averages for the North Macedonian denar differ from those published by the national central bank, as the latter include weekends and public holidays.
From January 1971 until June 1974 the monthly average series are theoretical rates based on the EUA currency basket. The rates vary according to changes in the market value of the component currencies. The annual averages for 1971-1974 are an average of the 12 monthly rates.
Exchange rates are not revised.
Units of ECU/euro and national currency
Not applicable
Data are taken from the European system of central banks or other natonal central banks. Until 31 December 1998 these exchange rates refer to the ECU and the source was the European Commission.
Daily, monthly, quarterly and annually.
The exchange rates provided by the ECB are updated every business day and generally published within 2 days (t+2). For Albania, Serbia and North Macedonia the exchange rates are available within a week from the end of the month.
