The value of the euro has increased by about one and a half cents against the US dollar on the foreign exchange markets, following a largely trouble free launch for the new currency in the euro zone's 12 member countries.
The euro was trading at about 90.2 cents against the US dollar by lunchtime, up from 88.8 US cents overnight.
In Dublin, the Central Bank is reporting no problems with the euro changeover today. It says the process is going well.
The bank itself is open to the public again today and some queues have formed, but these are much shorter than yesterday. All other banks and building societies are also open today and they are changing Irish pounds into euros free of charge.
The Irish Bankers' Federation says the changeover is going well at the retail bank level with no significant hitches. The Office of the Director of Consumer affairs said it had received a steady stream of calls from members of the public, many of which were seeking information, and that so far there were no major problems to report.
Meanwhile, the Euro Changeover Board of Ireland says over 85% of ATM machines throughout the country are operating normally and dispensing euros, mainly 10 and 20 euro notes. This is above the EU average of 80%. From today, all social welfare payments will also be paid in euro.
* Austria's 2,400 cash machines broke down today because of overuse by customers trying to get new euro notes, the Austrian press agency APA said.
It said the machines stopped working this afternoon when a central computer crashed, a day after the machines were converted to dispense new euro cash.
The breakdown was caused by the unusually high number of transactions rather than any glitch with the conversion of machines to the new currency, a spokesman for cash machine operator Europay was reported as saying.
