BLBG:Euro Drops As Chinese, French Data Weigh On Outlook
The euro fell against the yen as reports showed industrial output shrank in France and exports and imports growth slowed in China, adding to concern Europe will struggle to avoid a recession.
Europe’s 17-member currency was within 0.5 percent of its lowest level in two years versus the dollar. It weakened against most of its 16 major peers after European Union Economic and Monetary Affairs Commissioner Olli Rehn said Spain will soon have to take additional measures soon to meet budget targets.
“It essentially boils down to growth,” said Derek Halpenny, European head of global markets research at Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ Ltd. in London. “When you look at the Chinese data today it’s looking like the whole slowdown story could be spreading into the third quarter. My fear now is that we see confidence ebb away.”
The euro fell 0.3 percent to 97.66 yen at 9:54 a.m. London time. It touched 97.43 yesterday, the least since June 5. The shared currency was little changed at $1.2316 after sliding to $1.2251 yesterday, the weakest since July 2010.
To contact the reporters on this story: Lucy Meakin in London at lmeakin1@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Daniel Tilles at dtilles@bloomberg.net
