The euro traded near a two-month low against the dollar on concern the economic slump in Eastern Europe will deepen a recession in the 16-nation currency bloc.
The currency may decline for a second day against the yen on speculation the European Central Bank will signal it plans to cut interest rates again this year, after leaving them unchanged at a meeting today. The Czech koruna approached a two-year low versus the dollar before a government report that may show the trade deficit widened to the most in four years. Russia’s ruble was near an 11-year low after Fitch cut the nation’s debt rating.
“The markets are worried that Eastern Europe’s situation will get even worse,” said Tsutomu Soma, a bond and currency dealer at Okasan Securities Co. in Tokyo. “The trend for European currencies such as the euro is to be sold.”
The euro traded at $1.2851 as of 7:55 a.m. in London from $1.2849 late in New York yesterday. It reached $1.2706 on Feb. 2, the lowest level since Dec. 5. The currency fetched 115.15 yen from 114.90 yen. The dollar was at 89.61 yen from 89.43 yen.
The koruna dropped to 22.0972 per dollar from 22.0560 yesterday, when it touched 22.2415, the weakest level since October 2006. The British pound fell to $1.4409 from $1.4468, and traded at 89.21 pence per euro from 88.81 pence.
The U.K. currency is heading for a weekly loss versus the dollar and the euro before a Bank of England meeting today at which policy makers will cut the benchmark interest rate by a half-percentage point to 1 percent, according to a Bloomberg survey of economists.
From Bloomberg News.
The currency may decline for a second day against the yen on speculation the European Central Bank will signal it plans to cut interest rates again this year, after leaving them unchanged at a meeting today. The Czech koruna approached a two-year low versus the dollar before a government report that may show the trade deficit widened to the most in four years. Russia’s ruble was near an 11-year low after Fitch cut the nation’s debt rating.
“The markets are worried that Eastern Europe’s situation will get even worse,” said Tsutomu Soma, a bond and currency dealer at Okasan Securities Co. in Tokyo. “The trend for European currencies such as the euro is to be sold.”
The euro traded at $1.2851 as of 7:55 a.m. in London from $1.2849 late in New York yesterday. It reached $1.2706 on Feb. 2, the lowest level since Dec. 5. The currency fetched 115.15 yen from 114.90 yen. The dollar was at 89.61 yen from 89.43 yen.
The koruna dropped to 22.0972 per dollar from 22.0560 yesterday, when it touched 22.2415, the weakest level since October 2006. The British pound fell to $1.4409 from $1.4468, and traded at 89.21 pence per euro from 88.81 pence.
The U.K. currency is heading for a weekly loss versus the dollar and the euro before a Bank of England meeting today at which policy makers will cut the benchmark interest rate by a half-percentage point to 1 percent, according to a Bloomberg survey of economists.
From Bloomberg News.