By: Barbara Zigah

Investor fears of further debt contagion in the Eurozone sent the Euro broadly lower in Asian trading today, while the U.S. Dollar was also under pressure as the debt ceiling debate rages on in Washington. Both currencies moved lower against the safe haven Japanese Yen as talks of currency intervention were again floated. While comments from the Minister of Economics briefly impacted the Japanese currency, most investors are well aware that the individual who yields the intervention power is the Minister of Finance. To that end, the Finance Minister Yoshihiko Noda, said that the Beijing government is closely monitoring the forex market.

The Euro fell 0.3% against the Japanese Yen, trading at 111.71 Yen, while the U.S. Dollar dropped 0.2% to 77.80 Yen, close to 77.57 Yen, the 4-month trough struck on the EBS trading platform yesterday. Some traders note that a drop below the 77.50 options barrier could accelerate the greenback’s decline against the Japanese currency.

The Euro fell against the U.S. Dollar, too, trading at $1.4358, a decline of 0.1%. Support however is seen near $1.4328, the 100-day moving average. Against the Swiss Franc, the Euro slipped to 1.1504 Swiss Francs, a decline of 0.1% and adding to yesterday’s 0.9% drop in value. Recent contrasting comments made by two Eurozone policymakers put the focus on the fragility of the rescue package.