By: Barbara Zigah

The worsening situation in the Eurozone sent the common currency on a nosedive against the safe haven Japanese Yen, striking a 10-year low, to fall below key technical levels as well as option barrier. The Euro also slumped to a 7-month trough against the U.S. Dollar. Growing worries over whether or not Greece will default on its debt obligations is keeping the single currency under significant pressure.

As reported at 2:31 p.m. (JST) in Tokyo, the Euro was trading down 1.6% against the Japanese Yen to 104.10 Yen, the lowest price in a decade. Against the greenback, it fell 1% to $1.3520, after falling to $1.3494, the lowest price for the EUR/USD pair since February.

Viewed as a barometer of risk appetite, the Australian Dollar lost 1.6% of its value in Asian trading, dropping to a 3-week low and below the 200-day moving average. The AUD/USD pair fell to $1.0340 at one point in the session.

As one analyst in Tokyo pointed out, the Eurozone’s troubles don’t seem to ever completely resolve; a new one just compounds the old. Now, markets are worried that France’s banks could be hit with a ratings downgrade even as Italy’s sovereign debt is also in jeopardy of a downgrade, as Moody’s 90-day deadline approaches.