The euro remained lower following a decline yesterday after the International Monetary Fund slashed its growth forecast for the currency bloc as European leaders struggle to contain the region’s debt crisis.
The shared currency maintained a drop against the yen before data from Italy tomorrow that economists say will show the nation’s industrial production decreased the most in more than two years. German Chancellor Angela Merkel visits Greece today for the first time since the crisis began in 2009.
“The euro is struggling to strengthen,†said Kengo Suzuki, a currency strategist in Tokyo at Mizuho Securities Co., a unit of Japan’s third-largest bank by market value. “The economic outlook is not bright in Europe.â€
The euro was unchanged from yesterday at $1.2968 as of 8:07 a.m. in Tokyo after losing 0.6 percent in New York. It was little changed at 101.54 yen following a 1 percent drop, the biggest slide on a closing basis since July 20. The dollar was at 78.32 yen from 78.33.
via Bloomberg
