The euro opens this morning at a 2 month low against the pound and a four month low against the US dollar as ongoing jitters about Italy and Cyprus continue to dominate market attention.
Yesterday, a weaker than expected Italian bond auction on the back of concern about a lack of progress in the formation of a new Italian government kept the pressure on the single currency. Comments from the leader of Italy’s Democratic Party that only a "mentally ill" person would want to govern the country hardly helped sentiment.
The Italian Treasury sold long-term sovereign debt on Wednesday but saw a fall in demand and costs rise to a six-month high on its 5 year bond issue.
Meanwhile, the Cypriot government announced plans to put limits on how much cash can be taken out of the country ahead of controls that are coming into force today when it is planned to re-open the banks in Cyprus for the first time in 10 days. The measures are aimed to prevent billions of euro’s from leaving the country.
Phidias Pelides, head of the Chamber of Commerce said yesterday that capital control measures in Cyprus will limit financial transactions and capital outflows but will not affect flows within the country saying "We have been assured that limitations will not affect transactions within Cyprus at all. Where there will be limitations is on what we spend abroad and also on capital outflows."
Cyprus has also decided that cheques can only be deposited or cashed at the bank; that credit and debit card transactions abroad will be capped at €5,000 per person per month; that individuals will only be allowed to take €3,000 in cash on each trip out of the country and finally, that all Cypriots will only be allowed to transfer up to €10,000 per quarter for citizens who are studying abroad.
These controls will be active across all bank accounts regardless of the currency involved for the next seven days.
In the UK, data out yesterday showed that UK gross domestic product dropped in the last quarter of 2012 as both industrial production and exports shrank , according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS). The GDP, which estimates total economic activity in the UK, fell 0.3% quarter-on-quarter in the October to December period. The data was in line with analysts’ expectations.
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