Euro Slides On S&P’s Warning Of Greece
The euro pulled back from its early Monday Asian session’s fresh multi-weeks highs against the dollar and the yen as traders sold the single currency after Standard & Poor’s warned that Greece’s debt rollover plan could shift the ratings into selective default.
Meanwhile, the euro fell to a 4-day low against the pound.
“It is our view that each of the two financing options described in the Federation Bancaire Francaise proposal would likely amount to a default under our criteria,” S&P said. The FBF has floated two options for rolling over maturing debt of Greece.
The agency said both proposals would involve losses to bondholders and would represent the sale of “distressed” debt.
Greece’s ratings remains at ‘CCC’ with negative outlook. It was downgraded by S&P on June 14. The agency cited possibility of one or more defaults over the coming 12 months as the reason behind the move.
Over the weekend, European finance ministers approved the disbursement of the fifth tranche of the current Greek Loan Facility by mid-July. Ministers welcomed the progress made by the Greek authorities in implementing the policy measures.
In economic news, Eurozone producer price inflation slowed more than expected in May, Eurostat said. Producer prices increased by 6.2 percent year-on-year after rising 6.7 percent in April. Economists had expected producer prices to rise 6.3 percent in May.
On a monthly basis, producer prices logged a fall of 0.2 percent, reversing last month’s 0.9 percent rise. The consensus forecast called for a drop of 0.1 percent.
The euro declined to a 4-day low of 0.9007 against the pound, compared to last week’s close of 0.9043. If the euro slides further, it will fall below 0.90 and target the 0.898 level.
The British construction sector logged solid growth of activity in June, data from Markit Economics showed. But the growth rate eased from the previous month due to slower expansion of new orders.
The seasonally adjusted Markit/Chartered Institute of Purchasing & Supply (CIPS) construction Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) fell to 53.6 from 54 in May. The reading matched economists’ expectations.
The euro is currently worth 117.10 against the yen, down 0.6 percent from an early Asian session’s near 4-week high of 117.76. The near term support for the euro-yen pair is seen around the 116.2 level. At last week’s close, the pair was quoted at 117.44.
Against the U.S. dollar, the euro is now worth 1.4525, compared to more than a 3-week high of 1.4579 hit in early Asian deals. On the downside, 1.445 is seen as the next target level for the European currency. The euro-dollar pair closed last week’s trading at 1.4531.
The euro that jumped to near a 7-week high of 1.2347 against the Swiss franc in early Asian deals has been showing choppy trading since then. The euro-franc pair that closed Friday’s trading at 1.2323 is now worth 1.2340.
Switzerland’s retail sales slipped real 4.2 percent in May from April, following a monthly 0.6 percent rise in the previous month. Annually, retail turnover decreased 4.1 percent, reversing prior month’s 7.8 percent growth.
Looking ahead, Canada’s industrial product price report for May is due at 8:30 am ET.
The U.S. financial markets are closed today for Independence Day holiday.
