The dollar hit a seven-month high against a currency basket on Friday, boosted by risk aversion as the cost of insuring the debt of some eurozone nations against default hit record highs on worries over their fiscal positions.
-- Dollar index hits 7-month high, euro/dollar at 8-month low
Upward momentum in the safe-haven dollar intensified ahead of US nonfarm payrolls due later in the day, pushing the euro to an eight-month low, as a slide in stocks and widening eurozone periphery government bond spreads triggered more selling in the euro.
The single European currency was unable to sustain gains made against the Swiss franc after the Swiss National Bank was seen selling the domestic currency in Asian trade, which had lifted the euro from a 15-month trough. Fears about the fiscal health of peripheral eurozone economies mounted, pushing up the cost of insuring Greek, Portuguese and Spanish government debt against default to record highs, according to monitor CMA DataVision.
The yield spread between Greek and German 10-year government debt expanded from the previous day due to uncertainty about how Athens will service its debts, prompting traders to dump the euro in favour of the perceived safety of the dollar. "These are still factors in the ongoing risk-aversion backdrop," said Stuart Bennett, currency strategist at Calyon in London, referring to the widening bond spreads.
"The market has momentum behind it, it's picking up speed, so no matter what happens, the market takes it as dollar-positive, euro-negative." Given such circumstances, he added the dollar may appreciate more regardless of whether US non-farm payrolls come in weaker or stronger than expectations at 1330 GMT. A Reuters poll shows forecasts for a flat reading in January.
The dollar index, which tracks its moves against a currency basket, climbed to 80.435, its strongest since July 2009 as European shares fell 1.7 percent on the day. By 1221 GMT, the euro was half a percent lower on the day at $1.3699 after falling as low as $1.3649 according to Reuters data, its weakest since May 2009.
On the week, the euro is on track to posting a 1.1 percent fall, its fourth consecutive week of losses. The single European currency has tumbled roughly 10 percent from its December 2009 high around $1.5140. Ongoing fiscal concerns in the eurozone and looming US payrolls have cranked up implied volatility in the currency options market, with one-week euro/dollar vols trading around 14 percent compared with 11.85 percent on Thursday.
Analysts said such a change on the day had not been seen since Lehman Brothers filed for bankruptcy in autumn 2008. Versus the yen, the single European currency fell to a session low of 121.99 yen, hovering in range of 121.54 yen hit on Thursday for the first time since February 2009.
The euro traded at 1.4700 Swiss francs, pulling back from a high of 1.4905 francs hit on trading platform EBS in Asian trade on suspected intervention by the SNB. Spokesmen for the central bank and the Bank of International Settlements declined comment.
Investors awaited a meeting of Group of Seven central bankers and finance ministers in Canada starting later in the day, although analysts said it was unlikely that currencies would be addressed in the final communique.
Some in the market speculated that the yuan may come under discussion due to increasing calls for the Chinese currency to appreciate, although Japan's finance minister said he did not request the yuan to be on the agenda.
Comments
Comments are closed.