Dhaka, Bangladesh (BBN)- The Euro (EUR) slid to a near nine-month low at 1.3529 against the US Dollar (USD) at the start of the week, on China’s decision to increase the reserve requirement for banks by 50 basis points and lack of any detailed plan to rescue Greece.
As the week passed, the EUR gradually reversed its losses. On Wednesday the currency jumped as high as USD 1.3890 on investors’ view that the fall in EUR over Greece’s debt problems had run its course.
However, at the end of the week, the EUR slipped to around USD 1.3573, faltering near its nine-month low struck earlier.
At the beginning of the week, the USD opened at 89.56 against the Japanese Yen (JPY). The USD remained steady against the JPY for most part of the week, before climbing as high as JPY 91.38 on Wednesday, its highest level since January 21. On Thursday, USD eased somewhat to trade around 90.84 Yen.
On Friday, the Australian Dollar (AUD) fell roughly 1.4 percent and hit a day’s low of USD 0.8781 after China surprised markets with the increase in banks’ reserve requirements. AUD gained on the later part of the week and climbed as high as USD 0.9031 on Wednesday, its highest since late January.
The Canadian Dollar (CAD) fell as low as 1.0578 against the USD on Friday, hurt by a surprise monetary policy tightening in China, although strong Canadian economic fundamentals helped it maintain much of its recent gains. However, CAD quickly reversed losses and jumped to its highest level in three weeks at 1.0407 on Tuesday.
BBN/SS/SI/AD-19February10-5:44 pm (BST)
