Euro edges closer to $1.10 mark as investors await more details on quantitative easing
The euro edged closer towards the $1.10 psychological barrier in early afternoon trading, falling 0.8 per cent to $1.1086 as investors awaited further details of the European Central Bank's (EBC) €1.2 trillion (£870bn) quantitative easing programme.
The currency crashed through its previous 11-year low of $1.1098, which it hit in earlier this year.
ECB chief Mario Draghi is due to outline his plans for the €60bn-a-month asset-buying programme at a press conference tomorrow, with the hope it will be enough to stave off deflation in the troubled region.
The dollar has also strengthened in recent weeks thanks to rises in US government bond yields, although weak non-farm employment data published today was weaker than expected, with the rise in employment missing forecasts by around 9,000.
Connor Campbell, a financial analyst at Spreadex, pointed out that despite high hopes for tomorrow, the euro could weaken further.
While [the details of QE] is set to become clearer, there remains a murkiness surrounding the chances of a third Greek bailout; following more comments from the ever-chatty Spanish economy minister suggesting that a €30-€50 billion bailout is still on the table, the Germany finance ministry was adamant that a such a scheme will not be on the agenda at next week’s Eurogroup meeting.