Euro Eases From Multi-day Highs Against Most Majors
In early European deals on Monday, the euro eased from an early Asian session’s multi-day highs against the dollar, the yen and the pound as investors remain concerned about sovereign debt problems.
Research firm DBS said today that the euro’s direction this week depends on two key events, namely the Greek bond issue and the Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke’s testimony.
Early this week, Greece is expected to announce details on its plan to issue 10-year bonds, while Bernanke is expected to deliver his semi-annual congressional testimony on February 24 and 25.
The firm is of the view that the euro will resume its depreciation if the Greek bond issue causes widening of Greek credit default swap and if Bernanke relays more optimism about recovery, while also showing patience on rate hikes.
The euro that rose to an 11-day high of 0.8819 against the pound in early Asian deals on Monday showed choppy trading in late Asian deals but fell during the early European session. As of now, the euro-pound pair is worth 0.8795, down from Friday’s close of 0.8805.
Against the franc, the euro declined to 1.4649 at 4:25 am ET, from an early Asian session high of 1.4668. As of now, the euro-franc pair is trading near Friday’s close of 1.4649.
Monday morning in Asia, the euro strengthened to an 18-day high against the Japanese currency, but pared gains during late trading and extended its slide in early European deals. At 4:30 am ET, the euro-yen pair was worth 124.71, compared to Friday’s close of 124.67.
Moving down from an Asian session’s multi-day high of 1.3665 against the U.S. dollar, the euro touched a low of 1.3618 at 4:35 am ET. At present, the euro-dollar pair is trading at 1.3617, compared Friday’s close of 1.3587.
Looking ahead, San Francisco Federal Reserve President Janet Yellen is scheduled to speak at the University of San Diego at 10:30 am ET.
Meanwhile, the Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke is scheduled to appear before the House Financial Services Committee hearing on “Prospects for Employment Growth: Is Additional Stimulus Needed?” at 11 am ET.
