The Euro steadied versus its main rival, the U.S. Dollar, after experiencing volatility during the unrest in the Ukraine which eventually saw the president removed from office and a transformation of the government. Analysts say that the Euro’s stability could be brought into question unless the situation in the Ukraine, a former republic of the Soviet Union, improves rapidly with the cessation of public demonstrations and the E.U. or IMF stepping in to provide funds to compensate for aid that was frozen by the Russian government.
As reported at 11:52 a.m. (JST) in Tokyo, the EUR/USD was trading at $1.3735, edging away from the previous week’s low of $1.3685. The EUR/JPY moved higher to 140.82 Yen, well of Thursday’s trough of 139.22 Yen. The safe haven Yen was also lower against the Dollar as the uncertainty in the Ukraine ebbs, with the USD/JPY pair trading at 102.57 Yen, a gain of 0.1% and moving away from Friday’s 3-week peak of 102.80 Yen. The U.S. Dollar Index also continued to improve, gaining 0.1% to trade at 80.288 .DXY; last week’s news that the Fed would continue to taper helped to give the Index a boost.
Markets Look Ahead
Markets will watch for key economic data out of the U.S. this week which could help reaffirm the Fed’s stance; that data includes a consumer confidence reading tomorrow, then the release of new home sales and finally, 4th quarter GDP to end the week.