Cue From The Euro's March

(Reuters) - The euro was steady on Tuesday, staying vulnerable ahead of a Spanish bill sale that could intensify concerns over the country's precarious fiscal position as euro zone debt jitters showed no signs of abating. Spain is expected to see borrowing costs leap when it sells 12- and 18-month Treasury bills after concerns over its deficit and banking sector pushed 10-year yields above 6 percent on Monday and the cost of insuring its debt to a record high. The developments fuelled concerns Madrid might fail to meet deficit targets as the country acknowledged it has probably tipped into its second recession since 2009, raising the risk it may have to seek an international bailout. The euro was steady at $1.3136, just above its 100-day moving average at $1.3129 but stuck below ...

(Reuters) - The euro lost some ground on Tuesday, a day after short-covering helped it pull away from two-month lows against the dollar, and remained vulnerable ahead of a Spanish bond auction as euro zone debt jitters showed no signs of abating. Spain is set to see its borrowing costs leap when it sells short-term bonds after concerns over its deficit and banking sector pushed longer term risk premiums above 6 percent and drove the cost of insuring its debt to a record high. The developments fuelled concerns Madrid might fail to meet deficit targets as the country acknowledged it has probably tipped into its second recession since 2009. That would raise the risk of it being pushed into seeking an international bailout. The common currency shed 0.2 percent to $1.3110, having ...

The euro slid against the dollar and the yen on Thursday as investors, nervous about Spain's budget presentation on Friday, dumped riskier assets before the end of the first quarter. The single currency has declined steadily in recent sessions after touching a nearly four-week high earlier this week on comments from Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke, who indicated supportive monetary policy will remain in place. But with several key risk events for the euro zone's sovereign debt crisis slated for the next few days, investors are squaring positions, said Nick Bennenbroek, head of currency strategy at Wells Fargo Bank in New York. "We've had a few good days for the euro," he said. With a broader bias to sell euros still pervading the market, investors are now booking profits on some ...

The euro slid against the dollar and the yen on Thursday as investors fretted that a Spanish budget due on Friday could show the euro zone nation with little recourse to dig its way out its debt dilemma. The yen also benefited from flows ahead of the close of Japan's fiscal year on March 31, with data showing weaker-than-expected U.S. initial jobless claims also adding to the market's nervousness. In Spain, workers slowed public transport to a crawl and disrupted factories to protest Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy's sweeping reforms a day before a new round of budget cuts. That budget "is a very dicey game," said Karl Schamotta, senior markets strategist with Western Union Business Solutions. An austere document could spur relief in bond markets, "however, the reality is that that will ...

The euro fell against the dollar and the yen on Thursday as concerns about contagion from the euro zone debt crisis resurfaced, with investors wary on the common currency ahead of Spain's budget on Friday. Traders said automatic stop-loss sell orders were triggered on the euro's break below $1.33 after the European Commission's economic sentiment index dipped by 0.1 percent, with sentiment in industry worsening markedly. Despite decent demand at an auction of Italian five- and 10-year bonds, Italian and Spanish yields rose, dragging the euro to a session low of $1.3267. Analysts said the euro was unlikely to break below its recent range of roughly between $1.30 and $1.35, with market players expecting a euro zone finance ministers' meeting to approve bolstering the region's rescue fund ...

Fiscal year-end repatriation flows supported the yen across the board on Wednesday, while the euro was little changed against the dollar after a warning from an ECB official about resolving the debt crisis. The yen edged higher early in the session as Japanese exporters prepared to close their fiscal year on March 31. But analysts said they expected the repatriation effect to be short-lived. Though moderate, a rise in U.S. durable goods orders in February was enough to refocus investors on problems in the euro zone, particularly after cautious comments from European Central Bank Governing Council member Jens Weidmann. Weidman's comments come before a meeting of European Union economic and financial affairs ministers in Copenhagen on Friday and Saturday. "In general as you get closer to ...

The euro slid against the dollar on Wednesday as investors discounted dovish comments from the U.S. Federal Reserve chairman earlier in the week and refocused on the euro zone after comments from an ECB official warning about resolving the debt crisis. The single currency received a boost on Monday when Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke spurred expectations the bank could yet launch a third round of quantitative easing if the U.S. economy needed a boost. Though moderate, a rise in U.S. durable goods orders in February was enough to keep investors focused on the euro zone, with cautious comments from European Central Bank Governing Council member Jens Weidmann adding to wariness around the euro. Weidman's comments come before a meeting of European Union economic and financial affairs ministers ...

The dollar hit its lowest level in four weeks against a basket of major currencies on Tuesday, extending falls from the previous day after Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke kept the door open for more monetary easing in the United States. Analysts said the dollar may suffer further short-term falls if speculation over a third bout of quantitative easing persisted, but any data pointing to a pick-up in U.S. economic activity could see the currency claw back losses. The dollar index .DXY fell around 0.2 percent to 78.770, its weakest since March 2, after Bernanke said on Monday a policy of very low interest rates was needed to reduce unemployment, making clear he was in no rush to change course and tighten policy sooner than pledged. "The economy is doing a lot better than many people ...

The euro gained against the dollar on Monday, a day after Greece approved new austerity measures, but worries about hurdles in the country's bid to avoid a disorderly default limited gains and kept the currency well off its session high as New York trading began to close. The Greek parliament passed a package of wage, pension and job cuts on Sunday, boosting hopes Athens would secure more rescue funds from the European Union and International Monetary Fund ahead of a March bond redemption. "The euro bounced back on Monday as Greece approved the budget-cutting measures laid out by the troika - the European Central Bank, the European Commission and the International Monetary Fund," said David Song, currency analyst at DailyFX. "But the relief rally may be short-lived as the fundamental ...