Forex: Week’s review

On Monday the yen declined on speculation the Bank of Japan will add to stimulus measures this week to support growth and weaken the nation’s foreign-exchange rates. Japan’s currency slid as speculation European officials may step up efforts to tackle the debt crisis damped demand for haven assets. The euro erased losses against the dollar as German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble said Germany and France will do “everything necessary” to keep Greece in the shared currency.

On Tuesday the yen weakened the most in a month against the dollar after Fitch Ratings cut Japan’s credit ranking, saying the nation isn’t acting quickly enough to tackle its public debt burden. Fitch lowered Japan’s long-term, foreign-currency ranking to A+ from AA, and cut the local-currency grade to A+ from AA-, the company said in a statement. The euro dropped toward a four-month low against the greenback after the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development said Europe’s debt crisis risks spiraling.

On Wednesday the euro fell to its weakest level against the dollar since July 2010 on speculation a summit of European Union leaders will provide no new measures to stem the sovereign-debt crisis. The shared currency extended losses after dropping below 100 yen for the first time since February and weakening to less than $1.26, price levels where traders who follow technical analysis said sell orders were clustered.

On Thursday the euro fluctuated against the dollar after touching the weakest level since July 2010 as German manufacturing data dropped and traders speculated measures may be taken to relieve the bloc’s debt crisis. A German index based on a survey of purchasing managers in the manufacturing industry declined to 45 this month from 46.2 in April, Markit Economics said.

The Swiss franc weakened to its lowest level in two months against the euro amid speculation the central bank may take action to discourage investment in the nation through taxing deposits.

On Friday the euro touched its lowest level since July 2010 against the dollar amid concern Spain’s regional governments may lose access to capital markets. The shared currency erased earlier gains against the dollar and yen after Catalan President Artur Mas repeated his call for Spanish central government to help regions access funding and remained lower after Standard & Poor’s cut the credit ratings of five Spanish banks.