Euro at 1.27 versus Dollar - 16.5.2012
The euro nosedived against the US counterpart as political uncertainty in Greece forced investors to boost demand for safety. The single currency touched in Asian trading hours its lowest level since January 17 – 1.2683, as Greece’s political forces failed to form a new government leading the nation to new parliamentary elections. At the same time German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble said at a meeting of European finance ministers yesterday that Greece would have to accept the conditions of international financial aid keeping austerity measures agreed with international creditors earlier in the year to stay in the euro area.
At the same time both Italian and Spanish bond yields are climbing above 6%. Investor concerns have sent 10-year yields of Spain to as high as 6.36%, the highest level since November 30 of 2011 before the government sells debt maturing in 2015 and 2016 tomorrow. Italy’s 10-year borrowing costs have also breached through 6% today, compared with equal-maturity German yield falling below 1.45%. The single currency also touched today the lowest level since February 16 versus the yen and is trading at the lowest level since November 2008 against the British pound – 0.7950.