Euro Falls On Concerns Over Greece's IMF Debt Default
May 20 2015 - 4:06AM
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The euro drifted lower against the other major currencies on
Wednesday, following a warning by Greek law maker that Greece may
miss loan repayment due to the International Monetary Fund on June
5, unless it reach a deal with its lenders soon.
Speaking to ANT1 television, Greek parliamentary speaker Nikos
Filis told that Greece will give priority to pay the pensions and
wages rather than repaying the IMF, if its EU creditors don't
release some of the €7.2 billion in outstanding bailout funds.
Greek government owes a repayment of EUR 305 million to the IMF
on June 5.
The single currency has already been hurt by comments made by
ECB's Coeure that the lender will accelerate its QE program in May
and June.
The ECB executive board member Benoit Coeure on Tuesday said
that the central bank will "frontload" its asset purchases in May
and June in order to maintain its monthly average of 60 billion
euros, due to an expected drop in liquidity in the summer vacation
period. Elsewhere, ECB Governing Council member Christian Noyer
said the bank stands ready to take further steps to meet its price
stability mandate.
The euro fell sharply on Tuesday after the comments by ECB's
Coeure, as well as worries about Greece's standoff with its
creditors.
In European morning deals, the 19-nation currency declined to a
6-day low of 1.0396 against the franc, off its early high of
1.0448. At yesterday's close, the pair was valued at 1.0444. The
euro-franc pair may possibly challenge support around the 1.00
mark.
The euro slipped to a 3-week low of 1.1061 against greenback,
from Tuesday's closing value of 1.1148. Continuation of the euro's
downtrend may lead it to a support near the 1.00 region.
The common currency hit a 1-week low of 0.7144 against the pound
and an 8-day low of 133.90 against the yen, after advancing to
0.7189 and 134.76, respectively in early deals. The euro is seen
finding support around 0.70 against the pound and 130.00 against
the yen.
The euro dipped to a weekly low of 1.3549 against the loonie,
down from a high of 1.3636 hit at 7:30 pm ET. If the euro continues
slide, it may find support around the 1.34 mark.
The euro pared gains to 1.5080 against the kiwi and 1.4012
against the aussie, from its early highs of 1.5184 and 1.4087,
respectively. On the downside, 1.48 and 1.37 are seen as the next
downside levels of the euro against the kiwi and the aussie,
respectively.
Looking ahead, the Bank of England's minutes of April meeting,
Swiss ZEW economic sentiment index for May and Eurozone
construction output for March are due shortly.
At 8:30 am ET, Canada wholesale sales for March are set for
release.
The Federal Reserve's minutes of its April 28-29 meeting will be
out at 2:00 pm ET.
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