2010.09.0805:26:00UTC+00Euro Plummets To Fresh Record Lows Against Franc And Aussie

Wednesday in early European deals, the euro plunged to fresh record lows against its Australian and Swiss counterparts on rekindled concerns about the European banking sector.

The euro also declined to an 8-day low against the pound and a 1-week low against the dollar. Meanwhile, the euro hovered near an Asian session's 15-day low against the yen.

Worries about Europe's banks resurfaced on Tuesday, after the Wall Street Journal reported that some major lenders had understated holdings in potentially risky government debt during "stress tests" designed to test their ability to weather crises.

Asian and European stocks declined today amid renewed concerns about the health of the eurozone banks.

In Asia, Japan's Nikkei 225 index fell 2.2%, Hong Kong's Hang Seng slipped 1.5%, China's Shangai composite index dropped 0.1%, New Zealand's NZX 50 index lost 0.4%, South Korea's Kospi declined 0.8%, Taiwan's main index plunged 0.4%. Australia's S&P 200 index and the All Ordinaries index slumped 0.8% each.

In Europe, Germany's DAX fell 0.6% thus far, France's CAC 40 index plunged 0.5% and U.K.'s FTSE 10 index lost 0.7%.

The euro weakened against the Swiss franc in early European session on Wednesday. The euro-franc pair that closed yesterday's trading at 1.2826 is presently trading at a fresh record low of 1.2780.

The euro has lost 14% against the franc thus far this year.

During early European deals on Wednesday, the euro slipped against the pound. As of now, the euro-pound pair is trading at an 8-day low of 0.8214, compared to 0.8258 hit late New York Tuesday. On the downside, 0.818 is seen as the next target level for the European currency.

The euro tumbled against the Australian dollar in early European deals on Wednesday. The euro-aussie pair is presently trading at a new record low of 1.3858. At yesterday's close, the pair was quoted at 1.3928.

The euro dropped against the dollar after reaching a high of 1.2735 at 3:05 am ET Wednesday. The euro-dollar pair is presently trading at a new 1-week low of 1.2662 with 1.259 seen as the next downside target level. The pair was worth 1.2681 at yesterday's close.

The euro that climbed to 106.53 against the yen at 3:05 am ET Wednesday declined thereafter. At present, the euro is worth 105.97 against the yen. If the euro declines further, it may likely target early Asian session's 15-day low of 105.81.

Looking ahead, the U.K. and the German industrial production - both for July are slated for release in the upcoming hours.

The U.S. Federal Reserve is due to release its Beige Book, a compilation of anecdotal evidence on economic conditions from each of the 12 Federal Reserve districts, at 2 pm ET. The report is normally released about two weeks before the monetary policy meeting is held.

The Federal Reserve is also expected to release its monthly consumer credit report at 3 pm ET.

Back to news list