The Euro has started to lose ground against the USD and the GBP amidst concerns that Ireland’s financial bailout has not assured markets that this crisis will not spread. First it was Greece at €110 billion, now Ireland at €90 billion. These are vast sums of money and are being banded around in the press as though it is not a problem. Unfortunately it seems that debt for both the everyday consumer and the global financial system seems to have become far more socially accepted. The high volume bailouts will undoubtedly cause animousity within the Eurozone as we will see a continued redistribution of wealth coming from the member states that have performed well, to those that have been unable to keep their finances in order.

The Euro has today depreciated against 12 of its 16 majorly traded counterparts. This knock in confidence has spread to the stock markets as fear mounts that this crisis may spread. US stocks are down between 0.6%-0.7%, European stocks are down between 0.85% and 1.1%. The impact of the news from Ireland has been widespread accross the world as fears continue to mount that this is not an isolated problem and that many other countries are running with a ticking time bomb in that their debt to GDP ratios are far too high.

The Euro will probably continue to come under pressure in the coming weeks as an ongoing stream of news continues to emerge, markets will look towards UK GDP on Wednesday and more news from Portugal to decide direction on the GBP/EUR pair. The GBP/USD pair will be dominated by the FOMC minutes, existing home sales and revised GDP data. We will update you on these announcements and their effects tomorrow.

Best Regards
Luke Zorab

Torfx Currency Dealer
(01736) 335285

If you have any questions or queries or have any requirements for currency please don’t hesitate to contact me.