|
|
The euro sank to within a whisker of parity with the dollar on Tuesday (12 July) and stock markets fell as the prospect of further central bank tightening and worries about the health of economies worldwide unnerved investors.
The euro has been particularly vulnerable given the impact of an ongoing spike in natural gas prices on the regional economy and the war in neighbouring Ukraine, and with the European Central Bank behind rivals in raising interest rates.
The single currency had dropped to a low of $1.00005 by 1030 GMT, its weakest since December 2002. It was last at $1.0011, down 0.3% on the day.
The dollar index gained 0.3% to as high as 108.56 , while sterling hit another two-year low and the yen was not far off its weakest in more than two decades .
“There doesn’t seem to be a lot of support for euro at this point,” said Sarah Hewin, senior economist at Standard Chartered. “It does not just relate to gas prices but to what seems to be a split within the ECB over how far they raise rates.”
Business morale is also deteriorating in the euro zone with more worried about a recession. German investor sentiment fell sharply in July, according to a widely watched economic sentiment index published on Tuesday....
more at EURACTIV