ZW: Euro falls further on Greece fears, stagnant eurozone growth
LONDON, Apr 08, 2010 (AFP) - The euro sank on Thursday as fears over eurozone debt continued to cast a shadow, and traders awaited interest rate decisions from the European Central Bank and the Bank of England.
In early morning deals, the euro tumbled as low as 1.3283 dollars, the lowest point since March 26. It later stood at 1.3299 dollars, down from 1.3339 dollars in New York late on Wednesday.
Against the Japanese currency, the dollar eased to 93.13 yen, from 93.30 yen late on Wednesday.
Greece saw its borrowing costs soar Wednesday with investors losing faith in an EU-IMF deal to help Athens manage its debts despite a Greek government pledge of faster reforms.
The return on Greek 10-year bonds -- a key sovereign debt instrument -- jumped to 7.423 percent, the highest since the country adopted the euro in 2001, sending jitters across global financial markets.
"The Greece story continues to weigh heavily on the euro which has continued to sink under the weight of the problems in Athens," said CMC Markets analyst Michael Hewson.
"Today's announcements by the Bank of England and the European Central Bank are likely to be no more than footnotes, with monetary policies likely to be left unchanged."
"It will be interesting to note any comments Trichet may have on the ongoing Greece situation."
The main ECB interest rate will remain unchanged meanwhile at a record low of 1.0 percent, analysts say, while ECB president Jean-Claude Trichet will likely be pressed to clarify his position on possible IMF aid for Athens.
Details of a new policy on collateral that eurozone banks put up to get ECB funds "could be immensely important for Greece and its banks," Goldman Sachs economist Erik Nielsen said.
The policy will give investors a clearer idea of how much Greece's sovereign debt will be worth and could thus help ease unrest that might otherwise spread to other weak eurozone members such as Portugal or Spain.
Elsewhere in Europe, the Bank of England is expected to leave its key interest rate unchanged at 0.50 percent Thursday although Britain is emerging from a record recession in better shape than previously thought.
The BoE decision is due at 1100 GMT in London, while the ECB will reveal its latest announcement at 1145 GMT in Frankfurt.
In London on Thursday, the euro was at 1.3299 dollars against 1.3339 dollars on Wednesday, at 123.86 yen (124.49), 0.8750 pounds (0.8751) and 1.4327 Swiss francs (1.4323).
The dollar stood at 93.13 yen (93.30) and 1.0774 Swiss francs (1.0733).
The pound was at 1.5201 dollars (1.5239).
On the London Bullion Market, the price of gold climbed to 1,145.82 dollars an ounce from 1,142 dollars an ounce on Wednesday.