By: Barbara Zigah
The fallout from the Irish downgrade continues to push the common currency lower; today in Tokyo, the Euro slipped to a 2-week trough versus the U.S. Dollar, and appears vulnerable to further losses.
As reported at 2:39 p.m. (JST) in Tokyo, the Euro was trading against the greenback at $1.3161, a loss of .2%; earlier in the session it had touched $1.3125, a 2-week low. While markets are mostly choppy as year end approaches, market players seem to be waiting on the sidelines until the European Union comes back with something more concrete as to how best to help the struggling Eurozone economies.
The U.S. Dollar has also generally been supported by the escalating tensions in Korea. The Euro also moved lower against the Japanese Yen, trading at 110.17 Yen, a 2-week low, attributed primarily to exporters in Japan who are selling the common currency.
The U.S. Dollar also slipped against the Japanese Yen, trading at 83.88 Yen. Analysts say that they don’t expect the greenback to move above 84 Yen, especially since a majority of investors from Europe and U.S. likely won’t take large positions with the holidays ahead. Some speculators, however, have been trimming their long positions in the Yen, as evidenced by the CFTC data report last Friday.