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HISTORICAL DETAILS
% Change
1 Wk -0.71%
1 Month -1.37%
3 Months -0.59%
6 Months 4.39%
1 Year 7.57%
52 WEEK
High 1.4940
Low 1.2588
BLOOMBERG MEDIAN FORECASTS
Q2 2011 1.45
Q3 2011 1.43
Q4 2011 1.42
Q1 2012 1.41
DAILY DETAIL
Even a speech by Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi has failed to stem the euro’s current falls. Yesterday’s relief rally in the single European currency has rapidly evaporated, as fears about the health of Italy and Spain rattle markets. With the crisis appearing to be moving into a new and more aggressive stage, questions are being raised about the eurozone’s ability to hold the line to prevent disaster engulfing Italy and Spain. EU president José Manuel Barroso conceded this point yesterday, in a move that marks a significant departure from the EU’s previous policy of ‘all is fine here, move along’. Given the severity of the current crisis, it was not surprising to see the ECB keep rates on hold at 1.5%. EUR/USD slumped as much as 1% during the day, but the ECB press conference saw this currency pair rally somewhat, as president Jean-Claude Trichet admitted that the ECB would be conducting liquidity programmes to help relieve tensions. Mr Trichet also took care to avoid committing himself on further monetary policy, but he did say that the ECB was monitoring price developments closely (but this stops short of the ‘strong vigilance’ phrase that has become the stock indication of further rate hikes). He also said that the bank’s bond-buying programme had never been dormant, which should perhaps be taken as a powerful hint that the bank has indeed been active in the European sovereign debt market, helping to prop up Spain and Italy. Christopher Beauchamp, London
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