Corporate foreign exchange news

Published by Mark Smith-HalvorsenThe euro's slump to a nine-month low could continue even if EU leaders attempt to bail out the Greek economy, foreign exchange rate traders have warned.Investors are looking ahead to likely scenarios in the future financial climate and seem to be finding new reasons to sell the euro, David Woo, head of foreign exchange strategy at Barclays, told Bloomberg. "Aggressive fiscal tightening by Greece, Spain and Portugal are likely to plunge their economies back into recession. All else being equal, this calls for a looser monetary policy," he added.Signals have pointed to investors betting that the European Central Bank (ECB) will keep its target interest rate at a record low, focusing on preventing the region's debt-heavy countries from cutting their deficits and stalling growth at the expense of letting the euro gain strength.The euro fell to $1.3444 on February 19th after the Federal Reserve hiked up the rate charged to banks for direct loans, signalling that the body is ready to withdraw the measures it has used in the financial crisis and increasing speculation that the ECB will not raise rates this year.For more information on purchasing currency for regular or one-off payments, visit our Personal FX site