By: Barbara Zigah
After three days of declines, the single currency Euro finally made some headway against the U.S. Dollar, rising to $1.4396 from $1.4338 reported yesterday in late New York trading, rebounding from an earlier low of $1.4306. The Euro’s rebound follows the release of political news from Pakistan that a coup attempt had been thwarted, reviving risk appetite for high-yielding currencies. The Euro also made gains against the Japanese Yen, trading at 128.64 Yen following a decline earlier in the day to 127.54 Yen, which was the lowest trade in more than 2 weeks. Expected out today, and also helping to prop up the Euro, is a German report on business confidence; investors expect that the report will indicate a rise in confidence to the highest level in nearly 18 months.
The Euro is struggling against the Swiss Franc, trading at 1.4966 Swiss Francs; yesterday, the Euro traded at 1.4909 Swiss Francs, a 9-month low. The Euro is poised for more declines on investor concerns over downgrades of sovereign debt within the Euro zone. Greece’s credit rating was reduced this week by Standard & Poor’s, and the rating company indicated that the BBB+ rating may be lowered yet again when it listed two major Greek banks on their negative credit watch list. Investor concern over the Euro zone credit problems is triggering Swiss Franc buying, considered by many a safe-haven currency.
Single Currency Euro Gains on U.S. Dollar following Failed Pakistan Coup Attempt
Barbara Zigah