Forex - EUR/USD erases gains after Spanish bond auction

Published 05/17/2012, 05:31 AM
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Investing.com - The euro erased gains against the U.S. dollar on Thursday, after an auction of Spanish government bonds sold the full targeted amount of EUR2.5 billion, but saw the country’s borrowing costs rise sharply.

EUR/USD pulled back from 1.2748, the session high to hit 1.2706 during European morning trade, slipping 0.07%.

The pair was likely to find short-term support at 1.2680, Wednesday’s low and a four-month low and resistance at 1.2758, Wednesday’s high.

Spain’s Treasury sold EUR372 million worth of three-year government bonds maturing in January 2015 at an average yield of 4.37%, up sharply from 2.89% at a similar auction last month.

Demand was stronger, however, with bids exceeding supply 4.47 times versus a "bid-to-cover" ratio of 2.41 in April.

The country sold an additional EUR1.02 billion of three-year debt maturing in July 2015 at an average yield of 4.87%, up from 4.03% at a similar auction last month.

Spain also sold EUR1.1 billion of four-year debt at an average yield of 5.10%, compared to 3.37% at a similar auction last month. The bid-to-cover ratio stood at 2.38, compared to 4.13 at an auction in April.

Sentiment on the euro was also weighed by ongoing concerns over the outlook for Greece after the European Central Bank said it had placed some Greek banks in an emergency liquidity assistance program, as they are severely undercapitalized.

The euro clung to gains against the pound, with EUR/GBP up 0.10% to trade at 0.7999, but slipped lower against the yen, with EUR/JPY dipping 0.03% to hit 102.11.

Later Thursday, the U.S. was to produce government data on unemployment claims, as well as a report on manufacturing activity in the Philadelphia area.


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