BLBG:Euro Approaches Five-Week Low Against Dollar After Spain Auctions Bonds
The euro approached a five-week low against the dollar as Spanish borrowing costs rose and the country raised less than its maximum target at a debt sale today.
The 17-nation euro headed toward its weakest level since Oct. 10 versus the yen as European stocks declined, boosting demand for Japan’s currency as a haven. The Dollar Index snapped three days of gains as economists said a report will show the number of Americans filing for jobless benefits rose last week. The Swiss franc declined against its 16 major counterparts.
“The euro is the weakest link among the major currencies and is bound to get weaker,” said Niels Christensen, chief currency strategist at Nordea Bank AB (NDA) in Copenhagen. “It is very vulnerable. There is so much uncertainty, not only in the southern European countries but it’s spreading.”
The euro dropped 0.2 percent to $1.3444 at 9:48 a.m. in London, after falling to $1.3422 earlier today, the weakest since Oct. 10. The currency declined 0.2 percent to 103.55 yen. The yen gained 0.1 percent to 76.97 per dollar.
The Stoxx Europe 600 Index of shares slid for the third time in four days, losing 0.8 percent.
The Dollar Index, which IntercontinentalExchange Inc. uses to track the greenback against the currencies of six major U.S. trading partners, dropped 0.1 percent to 78.271.
Jobless claims in the U.S. increased to 395,000 last week from 390,000 the previous week, which was the least since April, according to economist estimates before the government report due today.
To contact the reporter on this story: Lukanyo Mnyanda in Edinburgh at lmnyanda@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Daniel Tilles at dtilles@bloomberg.net
