Euro Remains Lower Before Spain’s GDP Report, Deficit Measures
The euro remained lower against the yen after a two-day decline on speculation Spanish data today will show the nation’s economy shrank as the currency bloc’s debt crisis deepened.
The euro touched the weakest level in almost two years against the pound before the Spanish government holds a media briefing today to explain steps to cut its deficit. The Australian dollar remained higher after a three-day gain versus the U.S. currency on prospects Asian stocks will extend a global advance, boosting demand for higher-yielding assets.
There are “no real underlying fundamentals that are supporting the euro at these levels,” said Thomas Averill, managing director in Sydney at Rochford Capital, a currency and interest-rate risk-management company. “I’m fairly bearish on Spain and the broad euro zone as a whole.”
The euro was little changed at 106.39 yen at 7:21 a.m. in Singapore from the close in New York on April 27 when it lost 0.6 percent. The 17-nation currency slid to 81.34 U.K. pence, the weakest since June 2010, before trading at 81.35 pence, 0.2 percent lower from the end of last week. The euro fell 0.1 percent to $1.3240. The dollar gained 0.1 percent to 80.35 yen.
Japan’s markets are shut today for a national holiday.
Marta Fernandez, Spain’s deputy budget minister, and Antonio Beteta, deputy minister for public administration, are due to hold the press conference today on deficit measures.
The Spanish economy, the fourth-biggest in the euro region, shrank 0.4 percent in the first three months of this year from the fourth quarter when it contracted 0.3 percent, according to economist estimates. The figure is due today.
The Australian dollar was at $1.0455 from $1.0471 after having risen 1.5 percent in the past three days. The MSCI All- Country World Index of shares advanced 0.4 percent on April 27.
To contact the reporter on this story: Masaki Kondo in Singapore at mkondo3@bloomberg.net.
