The euro continued a six-week-long drop against the US dollar after Standard and Poor stripped France of its top credit rating, and cut eight other eurozone nations, it has been reported by Bloomberg.The euro has depreciated by 1.8 per cent this month, which is the worst performance out of the ten developed-nation currencies tracked by Bloomberg Correlation-Weighted Indexes. Meanwhile, currencies that are considered safe, such as the dollar and the yen, made substantial increases as euro-scepticism continues to deepen.Standard and Poor has cut the rating of a host of euro-zone nations, with Italy, Portugal and Spain all being downgraded by two steps, as well as France and Austria's cut by one level. Many European nations will begin a series of debt auctions this week, which begins with France's bill sale. Italy must refinance around 341 billion euros (£282 billion) of securities that are due this year, as well as 54 billion euros (£45 billion) in interest payments, according to data provided by Bloomberg. France and Germany have similar levels of debt repayment to contend with.Despite this news, European Union commissioner for the internal market Michel Barnier has remained positive over the outlook for the euro.He commented: "The euro is here to stay. In the last ten years the euro has proven itself as a true world currency. And despite the difficulties, it remains strong. The real crisis the euro zone faces right now is a crisis of confidence. Our political unity and our determination and our ability to rectify what is wrong are being tested."There has been contrasting opinions over the perceived efforts of European governments in response to the crisis. The ratings downgrade by Standard and Poor reflect that the financial services company believe governments are not doing enough to rid the euro-zone of its current economic turmoil. However, many officials within the euro, including Barnier, believe the opposite is true, saying there has been "unprecedented efforts being made by governments" to overcome the debt crisis.For more information on foreign exchange treasury services and risk management, visit our Corporate FX site