Possible Outcome of Spain Debt Auction has Investors Paring Euro Holdings

By: Barbara Zigah

Renewed worries over Euro-zone debt has pushed the common currency Euro lower versus both the U.S. Dollar and the Japanese Yen in Asian trading today. New worries center on Spain’s multi-billion Euro sale of government bonds today, with many market players speculating that the auction may not go as well as hoped by the Spanish government. Adding to those worries, a rumor that the European Union, International Monetary Fund and U.S. Treasury Department have designed a liquidity plan to help Spain has investors selling off their short term holdings in the Euro, despite denials of the media report from the E.U. and government officials in Madrid.

As reported at 2:47 p.m. (JST) in Tokyo, the Euro slipped against the U.S. currency to $1.2271 from late Wednesday’s New York trade of $1.2311. Versus the Japanese Yen, the Euro traded at 112.02 Yen, slipping from 112.56 Yen in New York yesterday. One analyst in Japan predicts that if the Spanish debt auction goes poorly then the Euro may fall as far as $1.2150 and 111.00 Yen.

With market players eschewing the high risk currencies in the short term, the safe haven currencies are benefiting. The U.S. Dollar Index, a measure of the greenback’s strength versus other major currencies, was trading at 86.350 .DXY, as compared to 85.142 .DXY traded in New York yesterday.