Forexpros – The euro slid lower against most of its major counterparts on Tuesday, following comments by a senior European Central Bank policymaker, while sustained concerns over rising Spanish borrowing costs also weighed.
During European late morning trade, the euro slid lower against the U.S. dollar, to re-approach a 22-month trough, with EUR/USD slipping 0.09% to hit 1.2530.
The euro came under pressure after Ewald Nowotny; a member of the ECB’s governing council, said earlier that the bank has not discussed restarting its bond purchasing program.
Demand for the euro was also hit by concerns over the situation in Spain, where rising bond yields, the growing costs of bank rescues and a recession hit economy fuelled fears that Madrid will be forced to seek an international bailout.
Earlier Tuesday, Spain’s Treasury auctioned EUR8.5 billion of six-month bonds at an average yield of 2.10%, a six-month high, up from 1.77% at a similar auction last month.
The yield on Spanish 10-year bonds rose to 6.48% following the auction, hovering just below the 2012 high of 6.50% hit Monday after the government announced that it was to recapitalize one of the country’s largest commercial lenders.
Elsewhere, the single currency dipped lower against the yen, with EUR/JPY inching down 0.02% to hit 99.63.
In Japan, official data showed earlier that retail sales rose less-than-expected in April, advancing 5.8%, disappointing expectations for a 6.2% increase.
A separate report showed that household spending in Japan rose 2.6% in April, beating expectations for a 2.5% rise.
In addition, the single currency inched down against the pound and the Swiss franc, with EUR/GBP losing 0.09% to hit 0.7990 and EUR/CHF dipping 0.07% to hit 1.2012.
The euro was mixed against the Canadian, Australian and New Zealand dollars, with EUR/CAD slipping 0.12% to hit 1.2822, EUR/AUD inching up 0.05% to hit 1.2734 and EUR/NZD adding 0.09% to hit 1.6485.
Later in the day, Germany was to release preliminary data on consumer price inflation, while the U.S. was to release reports on house price inflation and consumer confidence.
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