During early Asian deals on Wednesday, the euro recovered slightly from a 1-year low against the US dollar, 3-month low against the pound and a 5-week low against the yen. The euro also bounced back against the Canadian dollar.
But the euro remained lower against the franc and the Aussie and touched 5-day and 2-day lows, respectively.
The euro was under heavy selling pressure yesterday as the rating agency Standard and Poor’s slashed Greek debt to junk status and also downgraded Portugal.
In a sign of continued concerns about the Greek debt crisis, Standard and Poor’s said yesterday that it is lowering its ratings on Greece’s debt to junk status, slashing its ratings to BB+ from BBB-.
S&P cited that the downgrade to junk results from its updated assessment of the political, economic, and budgetary challenges that the Greek government faces in its efforts to put the public debt burden onto a sustained downward trajectory.
S&P also said it lowered its long-term local and foreign currency sovereign issuer credit ratings on Portugal to A- from A+, while it cut the local and foreign currency short-term ratings to A-2 from A-1. The ratings agency also said that the outlook is negative.
The euro that fell to a 1-year low of 1.3146 against the dollar at 5:30 pm ET Tuesday gained thereafter. At present, the euro is worth 1.3206 against the dollar with 1.340 seen as the next upside target level.
The euro advanced against the yen after touching a 5-week low of 122.36 at 5:30 pm ET Tuesday. Currently, the euro-yen pair is worth 123.17. If the pair climbs further, it may likely target the 124.0 level.
Investors sold the Japanese currency today after a government report showed that retail sales in Japan rose more than expected in March.
The euro plunged to a 3-month low of 0.8630 against the pound before bouncing back at 5:35 pm ET Tuesday. As of now, the euro-pound pair is worth 0.8650. The next upside target level for the euro is seen at 0.870.
The euro slipped to a 5-day low of 1.4329 against the Swiss franc at 8:50 pm ET Tuesday. Since then, the euro-franc pair has been moving sideways and is currently worth 1.4332.
The euro dropped against the Aussie in early Asian deals on Wednesday. As of now, the euro-aussie pair is trading at a 2-day low of 1.4335 with 1.429 seen as the next downside target level.
The Aussie surged up today after a report showed that Australia’s consumer price index rose more than expected in the March quarter.
The euro that declined to 1.3358 against the Canadian dollar at 9:15 pm ET Tuesday climbed thereafter. At present, the euro-loonie pair is worth 1.3395. The next upside target level for the euro is seen at 1.348.
The Italian business confidence report for April has been slated for release in the upcoming European session.
The U.S. Federal Open Market Committee is scheduled to announce its interest rate decision at 2:15 pm ET.