Euro sinks to more than 10-year low against yen
NEW YORK–The euro remained under pressure Friday, falling to its lowest level against the yen in more than a decade, prodded by a weak Italian debt auction and Spain’s deficit warning.
The euro sank to 99.62 yen around 2200 GMT, down from 100.61 yen at the same time Thursday.
The euro earlier hit 99.53 yen, the lowest level since December 19, 2000.
The shared currency also fell against the dollar, trading at $1.2939, down from $1.2960 late Thursday. The euro on Thursday had sunk to $1.2858, a level last seen in September 2010.
The dollar meanwhile fell to 76.98 yen from 77.62 yen the prior day, still one yen above its all-time low against the Japanese currency.
Trading was subdued ahead of the extended weekend, with markets closed Monday in observance of the New Year holiday.
“There is nothing much going on. It is the end of the year,” said David Solin at Foreign Exchange Analytics, adding that some traders were adjusting their portfolios.
As for the fragile euro, “I don’t think anybody is very positive if you’re looking at six or 12 months” in the future, he said. “But there is not any impending crisis that is going to hit tomorrow.”
Still, the deepening problems in the eurozone dented sentiment. Spain announced Friday 8.9 billion euros in budget cuts and higher taxes to bring in another 6.3 billion euros to curb a bigger-than-expected public deficit.
The euro continued to feel the heat from Italy’s mixed public debt auction, analysts said. The Treasury’s 10-year bond met with lackluster demand and sold barely below a seven percent rate, considered unsustainable.
In late New York trading, the dollar fell to 0.9388 Swiss francs from 0.9400 francs the prior day.
The greenback also weakened against the British currency, which traded at $1.5532 compared with $1.5411 late Thursday.
