The euro dollar exchange rate (EUR USD) is 0.236% higher on the day at 1.4455. The euro pound exchange rate (EUR GBP) is 0.230% higher at 0.8829. The issues concerning European sovereign debt continue to evolve, yet, the euro continues to find support from buyers. Chris Weston at IG Index says: "It seems there has been strong demand for euros, despite a weaker-than-expected German IFO business climate. "Whilst no one really expects Mr Bernanke to announce a fresh round of asset purchases, traders are still hesitant to put on bearish euro bets as the memory of last August is fresh in their minds, where EUR/USD rallied from 1.27 to 1.42 on the back of QE2 expectations." As mentioned, while the euro exchange rate holds its ground issues in the Eurozone continue to look poor. The ECB flagged overnight that lending had jumped to a two-week high. It was reported that banks tapped the ECB’s marginal lending facility for EUR2.8 billion yesterday (a two-week high), compared to 555 million the previous day, raising fears that some banks are having difficulty accessing funds in the money markets. Greece remains very much in the spotlight, as the ten-year Greek bond versus German bunds spread threatens to break record levels, it seems the on-going debate over collateral for the new Greek bailout is causing some panic, with the Finnish Finance Minister re-iterating his call that it would not agree to further bailout funds unless some sort of collateral is agreed.

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