Greek hangover still weighing on the Euro
Greece is set to go to the polls again after days of coalition talks failed to produce an agreement on a new government. The elections on 6th May, showed a majority of Greek voters backing parties opposed to austerity plans demanded by the EU and IMF in return for two bailouts. Polls suggest the leftist Syriza bloc, which came second in the 6th May vote and rejects all further cutbacks, could become the largest party after a new election. Syriza wants to renegotiate the bailout package but also wants to keep Greece in the euro.
However European leaders say they will cut funding for Greece if it rejects the bailout agreed in March. This would effectively mean bankruptcy for Greece and German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaueble again ruled out amending the agreement. Yesterday an interim ‘caretaker’ government was sworn in to power led by a former high court judge Panagiotis Pikramenos will take the reigns until the new vote scheduled for the 17th June.
I feel this will continue to heap pressure on the Euro and any Euro sellers, certainly if funds are not liquid, may wish to consider a forward contract to guarantee their rate in advance. For Euro buyers this is potentially good news, however should you wish to take advantage of the current spike (we are trading at a near 3 1/2 year high on GBP/EUR) then a forward contract again might be the sensible option. Alternatively should you still have time on your side and have a particular target rate in mind then why not consider the use of a limit contract. This contract allows you to set a target price and should this level of exchange be reached your position will be automatically bought/sold. These contracts are designed to sit in the market 24/7 to make sure an opportunity is not missed, to discuss this and your position in more detail then please contact Mike on mgv@currencies.co.uk or call 01494 787 478.
Data for the rest of theis week to keep your eye on:
Today is a very quiet day with Bank holidays in parts of Europe. Tomorrow will see German CPI (Consumer Price Inflation) data. These inflation figures are important as they give a useful insight as to what the ECB (European Central Bank) will do with future interest rates. Should inflation be kept under control is gives more scope for rates to stay on hold or potentially fall which may well weaken the Euro further, we are expecting a small drop month on month from 0.4% to 0.3%.
Tomorrow we also have the start of the G8 summit, the meeting of the finance ministers from the group of eight industrialized nations that are the United States, Japan, Germany, France, United Kingdom, Italy, Canada, and Russia. Here the ministers will discuss important economic policy, and I am sure the on going euro zone issues will be top of theuir list so watch this space! To discuss this blog and my views or to run through the service we provide please email Mike at mgv@currencies.co.uk
