- Merkel: EU crisis not over yet, entering “new phase”
- More Merkel: We see Greece as a special case in the euro zone
- ECB buys Italian and Spanish bonds aggressively
- German EconMin Roesler: Euro can become more stable than the USD
- Spain sold 3.563 bln new 2022 bonds. Bid to cover 1.54 from previous 1.76, average yield 6.975% from previous 5.433%. Highest rate paid since 1997
- Spanish/German 10 year govt bond yield spread rises above 500 bps (presently at 497 bps)
- Dutch October adj unemployment 5.8%, up from 5.6% in September. Dutch November consumer confidence -32 pts after -33 pts in October
- UK October retail sales +0.6% m/m, +0.9% y/y, demonstrably better than median forecasts of -0.3%, -0.2% respectively. ONS says rise in October sales volumes driven by earlier than usual pre-Christmas promotions
- EU September construction output -1.3% m/m, +0.4% y/y
- Swiss November ZEW investor sentiment -64.3, down from -54.4 in October
- German FinMin: Markets increasingly nervous due to euro debt crisis (no, really)
- Latin showdown with Germany over ECB – AEP at The Telegraph
- Banks face funding stress – WSJ
EUR/USD down at 1.3485 from early 1.3505, having been as low as 1.3437 at one stage. Euro zone debt jitters continue unabated, the ECB seen buying Italian and Spanish bonds aggressively this morning.
EUR/USD slipped early, but reports of China on the bid down around 1.3450 lent decent support. That’s until the Spanish auction results, the high yield (see above) spooking the market.
We got to the low 1.3437 before steadying (helped by more reports of China buy interest lined up down around 1.3430 and aggressive buying of Italian and Spanish bonds by the ECB)
Barrier option interest now noted down at 1.3400.
USD/CHF touch firmer at .9200 from early .9185. EUR/CHF little changed at 1.2405. Rumours Swiss National Bank in asking EUR/CHF and GBP/CHF forward levels will have helped support the cross.
USD/JPY effectively unchanged at 76.90. Sell stops seen through 76.80 and more through 76.50 ( barrier option interest reported at latter level) Buy stops seen through 77.20 and more through 77.50.
Cable also effectively unchanged at 1.5760.
