By: Barbara Zigah
With the Eurozone’s finance ministers again postponing any firm decision about a resolution to the Greek fiscal problems the Euro edged lower in Asian trading today. As before, the Greek government was reminded that the E.U./IMF tranche payment is in jeopardy unless the government is successful in passing fiscal reforms through the Parliament.
As reported at 10:12 a.m. (SGT) in Singapore, the Euro slipped against the U.S. Dollar, dropping to $1.4263, a 0.3% decline and close to the 3-week trough of $1.4073 struck on the EBS trading platform last Thursday. Some traders said that a break at $1.4350 could result in a test at $1.4400.
One agreement that was reached by the E.U. ministers, however, was that Greece’s private creditors would be given the option of voluntarily rolling over their debt; that agreement helped to support the Euro, albeit temporarily, late last week. Investors are hoping that this week’s Federal Reserve policy meeting could help to support the Euro further this week, with investor hopes pinned on the Fed’s continuing ultra low interest rate policy. The issue of quantitative easing is still in question; with the current bond purchase program coming to a conclusion this month investors are keen to learn whether or not a third round of QE will be forthcoming.