Euro tumbles as debt fears touch Germany

AFP, Thursday 24 Nov 2011

The euro fell heavily Wednesday, sent reeling by news of a lacklustre German bond auction that struck at the heart of the eurozone's fiscal credibility

The single European currency lost over one per cent of its value against the dollar, hitting $1.3347, down from from $1.3507 in New York late Tuesday.

The tone was set early in the day.

Germany was able to sell only 3.6 billion euros' worth of its benchmark 10-year "Bund" out of the 6.0 billion euros on offer, an outcome reflecting "extraordinarily nervous market conditions," according a German spokesman.

"There's been a lot of talk lately that perhaps Germany isn't the safe-haven that many people thought it was," UBS currency strategist Chris Walker commented.

The dollar rose to 77.29 yen from 76.92 yen.
The pound weakened to $1.5530 from $1.5647.

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