Investing.com - The euro remained weaker against its major counterparts on Monday, trading close to a 16-month low against the U.S. dollar and a more than 10-year low against the yen as Friday’s mass euro zone sovereign downgrade and fresh concerns over a default by Greece weighed.
During European late morning trade, the euro was weaker against the U.S. dollar, with EUR/USD easing down 0.05% to hit 1.2670.
Standard & Poor’s cut the ratings of France and eight other euro zone nations on Friday, following warnings in December and said it would decide shortly whether to cut the triple-A rating on the euro zone's bailout fund, the European Financial Stability Facility.
Earlier Monday, Moody’s said that it was still assessing its outlook on France’s triple-A rating and said it would update markets during the first quarter.
The announcement came as France was preparing to auction as much as EUR8.7 billion in short-term government debt later in the day.
Meanwhile, talks aimed at negotiating a restructuring of Greece's debts broke down on Friday, amid disagreements over how much money investors will lose by swapping their bonds, raising fears over a possible default. The talks were set to resume later in the week.
The euro also inched lower against the pound, with EUR/GBP dipping 0.02% to hit 0.8276.
Reacting to the downgrades earlier, U.K. Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne said that the euro zone now needs to show that it can stand behind the shared currency and act to resolve Greece’s debt crisis.
The single currency was also lower against the safe haven yen, with EUR/JPY shedding 0.29% to hit 97.27, after falling to 97.04 earlier in the session, the pair’s lowest level since December 2000.
Japan’s Finance Minister Jun Azumi said that the government was concerned about the recent "rapid" fall of the euro and urged European leaders to step up efforts to establish a firewall to contain the negative effects of the region’s debt crisis.
Elsewhere, the euro was steady against the Swiss franc, with EUR/CHF easing up 0.15% to hit 1.2090.
In Switzerland, official data showed that producer price inflation rose for the first time in eight months in December, ticking up 0.3%, as higher oil prices outweighed the effects of the stronger Swiss franc.
Analysts had expected PPI to fall 0.3% last month.
The euro continued to struggle close to record lows against the Australian and New Zealand dollars, with EUR/AUD adding 0.19% to hit 1.2299 and EUR/NZD gaining 0.22% to hit 1.5986.
The Aussie and the kiwi remained supported by the view that China intends to loosen monetary policy, in an attempt to bolster growth in the world’s second largest economy.
The euro was lower against the Canadian dollar, with EUR/CAD shedding 0.34% to hit 1.2927.
Also Monday, markets in the U.S. were to remain closed for a national holiday.
During European late morning trade, the euro was weaker against the U.S. dollar, with EUR/USD easing down 0.05% to hit 1.2670.
Standard & Poor’s cut the ratings of France and eight other euro zone nations on Friday, following warnings in December and said it would decide shortly whether to cut the triple-A rating on the euro zone's bailout fund, the European Financial Stability Facility.
Earlier Monday, Moody’s said that it was still assessing its outlook on France’s triple-A rating and said it would update markets during the first quarter.
The announcement came as France was preparing to auction as much as EUR8.7 billion in short-term government debt later in the day.
Meanwhile, talks aimed at negotiating a restructuring of Greece's debts broke down on Friday, amid disagreements over how much money investors will lose by swapping their bonds, raising fears over a possible default. The talks were set to resume later in the week.
The euro also inched lower against the pound, with EUR/GBP dipping 0.02% to hit 0.8276.
Reacting to the downgrades earlier, U.K. Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne said that the euro zone now needs to show that it can stand behind the shared currency and act to resolve Greece’s debt crisis.
The single currency was also lower against the safe haven yen, with EUR/JPY shedding 0.29% to hit 97.27, after falling to 97.04 earlier in the session, the pair’s lowest level since December 2000.
Japan’s Finance Minister Jun Azumi said that the government was concerned about the recent "rapid" fall of the euro and urged European leaders to step up efforts to establish a firewall to contain the negative effects of the region’s debt crisis.
Elsewhere, the euro was steady against the Swiss franc, with EUR/CHF easing up 0.15% to hit 1.2090.
In Switzerland, official data showed that producer price inflation rose for the first time in eight months in December, ticking up 0.3%, as higher oil prices outweighed the effects of the stronger Swiss franc.
Analysts had expected PPI to fall 0.3% last month.
The euro continued to struggle close to record lows against the Australian and New Zealand dollars, with EUR/AUD adding 0.19% to hit 1.2299 and EUR/NZD gaining 0.22% to hit 1.5986.
The Aussie and the kiwi remained supported by the view that China intends to loosen monetary policy, in an attempt to bolster growth in the world’s second largest economy.
The euro was lower against the Canadian dollar, with EUR/CAD shedding 0.34% to hit 1.2927.
Also Monday, markets in the U.S. were to remain closed for a national holiday.