BLBG:Swedish Krona Weakens From 10-Month High Against Euro as Stocks Decline
The Swedish krona fell from a 10- month high against the euro and weakened versus the dollar as stock declines damped demand for higher-yielding assets.
The currency depreciated against all 16 of its major counterparts on speculation this week’s gains were overdone after it climbed yesterday to a four-week high against the greenback and the strongest since March versus the euro. The Norwegian krone also declined.
“There seems to be a bit of risk aversion, which is the reason why the krona is softer,” said Niels Christensen, chief currency strategist at Nordea Bank AB in Copenhagen. “The krona has done quite well against the euro and dollar this week, and so it is making a little bit of a correction to the downside.”
The krona fell 0.3 percent to 8.7749 per euro at 10:18 a.m. London time after rising to 8.7429 yesterday, the highest since March 3. The currency dropped 0.7 percent to 6.7977 per dollar, paring its weekly gain to 2.8 percent. The currency reached 6.7375 earlier today, the strongest since Dec. 12.
The Norwegian krone slipped 0.5 percent to 5.9339 against the dollar, and was little changed at 7.6583 per euro.
The Swedish currency is approaching 8.70 per euro, “levels that are associated with significant krona strength,” Steven Saywell, head of foreign-exchange strategy for Europe at BNP Paribas SA in London, wrote yesterday in a note to clients. “We do not believe that fundamentals justify the krona heading into a new paradigm of such significant strength and, therefore, suggest it may not be sustained.”
The Stoxx Europe 600 Index of shares dropped 0.4 percent, and futures on the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index fell 0.2 percent.
Benchmark interest rates are 1.75 percent in both Sweden and Norway, compared with 1 percent in Europe and as low as zero in the U.S. and Japan.
To contact the reporter on this story: David Goodman in London at Dgoodman28@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Daniel Tilles at dtilles@bloomberg.net