Foreign Exchange Report : GBP EUR Rate Holds Steady In Spite of IMF's Sovereign Debt Warnings

July 20, 2011 - Written by John Cameron

STORY LINK Foreign Exchange Report : GBP EUR Rate Holds Steady In Spite of IMF's Sovereign Debt Warnings

The Pound Euro exchange rate (GBP EUR) is 1.1398. The Pound Dollar exchange rate (GBP USD) is 1.6117. The Pound Australian Dollar exchange rate (GBP AUD) is 1.5043.

The IMF poured further fuel onto the flames of the Eurozone’s debt crisis yesterday as comments by the organisation’s Executive Board revealed grave concerns about the future for Europe’s single currency.

The IMF’s report highlighted a ‘serious risk of contagion’ if Greece, Ireland and Portugal failed to keep to the terms of their respective bail-outs and were unable to keep to honour their debt commitments. The commentary predicted ‘major global consequences’ if such a situation occurred.

The IMF’s executive board went on to observe that Europe’s economic powerhouses, (i.e. Germany and France), appeared to be ‘pulling away’ from Greece, Ireland and Portugal, suggesting that a dangerous North/South political fissure may be forming in the European Union.

The IMF concluded that market participants remain unconvinced that the ECB has the ability to resolve Greece’s debt woes, however investors’ reaction to the commentary suggested that investors have more faith in European policy-makers that the IMF believes, as the GBP EUR rate held resolutely below the 1.1400 level in the immediate aftermath of the IMF’s commentary.

Elsewhere, there was further bad news for Europe’s single currency as German Chancellor Angela Merkel talked down the chances of tomorrow’s emergency leaders’ summit finding a resolution to Greece’s debt problems. Merkel stated that ‘further steps will be needed’ after the summit to assist Greece in pulling away from the brink.

At the moment, the Euro is managing to avoid a major sell-off, but if other Eurozone policy-makers follow ECB Governing Council member Ewald Nowotny’s actions of yesterday in openly discussing contingency plans for managing a ‘selective default’ for Greece, then the GBP EUR rate may make a near-term run at May’s high of 1.1612.

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