Euro under pressure

Published: 6 Nov at 12 PM Tags: Euro, Dollar,

The euro has fallen against the US dollar and the UK pound as investors speculate the European Central Bank may be preparing to cut interest rates and introduce and easier money policy. The single currency is down 0.3 per cent to $1.3472 after hitting a low of $1.3448. Many strategists believe that the euro could remain under pressure for the next couple of weeks.

Against sterling the euro dropped 0.8 per cent to 83.96 pence. Figures from the UK suggest that last month the services sector grew more rapidly than it has done in the past 16 years. The pound was also up 0.5 per cent against the dollar to $1.6046.

The euro is currently down against the yen to 132.790, a drop of 0.3 per cent. Investors are becoming more enthusiastic that the UK could hit a period of growth in the coming year. The dollar index is up 0.2 per cent to 80.703, not far off a seven-week high of 80.930 hit on Monday.

The US dollar remained steady against the yen at 98.56 yen. Solid economic data suggests that the Federal Reserve could consider tapering its $85 billion bond buying programme earlier rather than later.

The Reserve Bank of Australia is putting pressure on the Aussie dollar which slipped 0.2 per cent to $0.9495.