European Currency Unit (ECU)

European Currency Unit (ECU) and International Trade Economy

In relation to international trade economy, Christopher Mark (1993) provided the following definition of European Currency Unit (ECU): A unit of value based on a “currency basket” comprising specific amounts of the currencies of the EC member states. Each currency's share in the basket is weighted in line with the respective country's GNP and foreign trade. The ECU is issued by the European Monetary Cooperation Fund against the gold and US dollar deposits made by the member states' monetary authorities.