Euro tumbles to 7-week low on heightened european debt concern

The euro tumbled to a seven-week low against the dollar and slid versus the yen as rising Italian bond yields stoked concern Europe’s sovereign-debt crisis in deepening.

The euro traded near a record low against the Swiss franc as euro-area finance ministers vowed fresh steps to ensure debt sustainability for Greece, including enhancements to the main bailout fund. The yen rose against most its major counterparts and jumped to an almost three-week high against the dollar. Norway’s krone and Canada’s currency declined as crude oil fell.

“The euro crisis had originally been a key reason why people were gunning for a weaker euro in the first half to begin with, but it has taken that much longer to play out,” said David Mann, regional head of research for the Americas at Standard Chartered Plc in New York. “It’s going to become something that will play an increasing role in the second half.”

The 17-nation euro depreciated 1.7 percent to $1.4032 at 5:01 p.m. in New York, touching the lowest level since May 23. It slid 2.1 percent against the yen, to 112.61, and touched 112.35 yen, the least since March 18. The dollar weakened as much as 0.5 percent to 80.26 yen, after touching the lowest since June 22.

Source: BusinessWeek.com