The Euro Dollar exchange rate is 0.301% lower on the day with 1 EUR = 1.3928 USD. The Euro Pound Exchange rate is 0.208% lower with 1 EUR = 0.8604 GBP. The Euro Yen exchange rate is 0.034% lower with 1 EUR = 114.9480 JPY. Euro exchange rates were trading lower this morning as sovereign debt concerns began to creep back into the picture. This serves as, "a stark reminder of the challenges in the region came yesterday when Moody’s Investors Service downgraded Greece’s sovereign debt rating by three notches to B1. On the current trajectory, it seems that it will only be a matter of time before Greece will have to restructure its debt in order to avoid a default," says David Choe at IG Index. Investors will be turning their attention to a number of EU meetings being held this month in the hope that the ’comprehensive package’ to stem the region’s debt woes will be delivered. The euro has been finding support over the last week and breached $1.400 yesterday on the view that the ECB may lift interest rates as early as April. However, if the ECB were to lift rates it may damage the economic recovery in peripheral European states and threaten to pull a number of countries back into recession. Higher rates will hurt those who have variable rate mortgages, which are most prevalent in Portugal, Ireland and Spain. Rising oil prices pose another risk to the economic recovery in the region. With little economic data out this afternoon, sentiment stemming from the Libya crisis is likely to be the main factor driving markets with any improvements in the situation likely to bolster the US dollar. David Choe, London

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