The British Pound posted gains against the Euro this afternoon after German officials crushed any thoughts that quick decisions would be made at the ongoing European Summit.
The officials comment mirrors that of Chancellor Angela Merkel who has taken a hard-line stance against any plans being made that would mean Germans paying out to assist struggling nations such as Spain and Italy. Some financial observers were hoping that the Germans would be more open to closer ties with Europe including a tighter fiscal union or direct intervention to help lower borrowing costs for the embattled nations.
The German officials said that today’s summit would produce no detailed decisions and that it will take time to resolve the regions long running debt crisis, causing traders to rush to sell the euro and buy safe havens like the dollar and the yen.
The euro was down 0.2 percent against the pound at 79.90 pence, just above a four-week low of 79.85 pence hit earlier this week.
The Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy pleaded with the Germans to allow his nation access to euro bail-out funds or to allow the European central bank to stabilise financial markets and ease crippling borrowing costs. Spain is currently being hammered at the bonds market and its borrowing costs are running at the dreaded 7% level, the same level that Greece suffered before it was forced down the bitter road of EU enforced austerity.
The suffering in Greece continues after a 40 year old banker committed suicide by throwing himself from Athens most famous land mark the Acropolis. The man jumped from the rear of the Theatre of Dionysus at 9.30am as several tourists looked on. One of the monument’s guards alerted the police and fire brigade. Fire-fighters found the man, who was rushed by ambulance to nearby Evangelismos hospital with head injuries and underwent surgery.
The UK’s latest GDP figures released by the office of national statistics showed that the country’s economy weakened worse than expected. The economy shrank by 0.4% between January and March keeping the country it in its double dip recession. The figure was previously estimated to fall by 0.3%.
The pound was weighed down the disappointing news causing the currency to lose its gains against the US Dollar. It fell 0.3% to $1.552 its lowest level in two weeks. The uncertainty over the EU summit has caused investors to flee to safe haven currencies such as the Dollar and Yen.
The Pound to Euro exchange rate is currently trading at 1.248
The Pound to US Dollar exchange rate is currently trading at 1.550
The Euro to Australian Dollar exchange rate is currently trading at 1.240
The Euro to US Dollar exchange rate is currently trading at 1.242
The Euro to Pound exchange rate is currently trading at 0.801
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