(RTTNews) - The euro plummeted against other major currencies in Asian trading on Monday amid growing speculation that Greece would default on its debt.
Fears about a Greek default rose after senior politicians in German Chancellor Angela Merkel's centre-right coalition started talking openly about it. This follows the resignation of Germany's Jurgen Stark from the European Central Bank's executive board, which indicates disagreement among European officials over how to solve their economic woes.
Meanwhile, the Greek cabinet on Sunday approved a set of new budget measures, aimed at meeting the deficit goals agreed under the international bailout deal. The new measures are expected to plug EUR 2 billion funding gap as more and more Eurozone members turned reluctant to hand out further financial assistance to the indebted nation.
A lack of concrete measures from Group of Seven finance chiefs to address either faltering growth, the escalating euro zone debt crisis, or exchange rate volatility also hurt investors sentiment.
Although the G7 leaders pledged to respond in a concerted matter to a global slowdown, they failed to offer specific steps and also differed in emphasis on Europe's debt crisis.
The euro fell to a fresh 7-month low of 1.3501 against the US dollar, compared to last week's close of 1.3664. The next downside target level for the euro-dollar pair is seen at 1.340.
The euro-dollar pair that bounced between 1.420 and 1.450 in August has been steadily declining since the beginning of September. The euro has lost 6 percent against the dollar thus far this month.
Against the yen, the euro slipped to more than a 10-year low of 104.13 and if the euro weakens further, it may likely target the 100.0 level. At last week's close, the euro-yen pair was quoted at 106.02.
The deadly earthquake and tsunami that hit Japan on March 11 and the subsequent nuclear disaster pushed euro to a 6-month low of 106.21 against the yen on March 17. But the G7 nations coordinated intervention on March 18 to weaken the yen helped euro bounce back. However, after hitting a 1-year high of 123.35 on April 15, the euro-yen pair declined again and extended its slide in the subsequent months. The euro has dropped nearly 14 percent against the yen thus far.
The euro that closed last week's trading at 0.8612 against the pound declined to more than a 6-month low of 0.8533 in today's Asian deals. On the downside, 0.840 is seen as the next target level for the euro.
Thus far this month, the euro-pound has depreciated 3.5 percent.
Meanwhile, the euro edged down to a 5-day low of 1.2043 against the Swiss franc, compared to last week's close of 1.2080. If the euro-franc pair slips further, it will break 1.20 level and target the 1.18 level.
(RTTNews) - There are no major economic reports due from the Europe and U.S. today.
