Bafin, the German banking regulator officially announces the short-selling bank and says it will take effect from Midnight tonight and last until March 31, 2011.

The steps are taken due to extraordinary volatility in the European government bond markets. Massive short selling could have endangered financial system stability.

EUR/USD trades near session lows as US equities trade at their lowest levels of the day, down 1.5%. 1.2234 is the early Monday low. Expect barriers to be defended at 1.2200.