Asisan session: the euro still under preassure

The euro trades near the lowest level in four months after the European Central Bank gave Cyprus until the start of next week to agree to a bailout package or lose emergency funding.

The ECB said in an e-mailed statement yesterday it will cut Cypriot banks off from emergency funds after March 25 unless the Mediterranean island agrees on a bailout with the EU and International Monetary Fund. Cypriot lawmakers will begin debate today on new legislation, after rejecting a proposal for an unprecedented levy on bank accounts.

Standard & Poor’s cut its rating on Cyprus by one level to CCC from CCC+, citing “acute problems” in the island nation’s banking industry. S&P said it has a negative outlook, pointing to the possibility of another cut.

The yen extended gains from yesterday when Haruhiko Kuroda failed to outline at his inaugural press conference as BOJ governor how he plans to achieve the central bank’s 2 percent inflation target, adopted at the urging of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.

The new central bank chief “was short on detail, disappointing the market,” David Croy, a Wellington-based researcher at ANZ National Bank Ltd. wrote in a note to clients today. “For the moment yen weakness appears mature.”

EUR / USD: the pair shown high at $1.2920 but fell to session lows later.

GBP / USD: during the Asian session the pair shown moderate growth, approach to the strong resistance at $1.5200/20 area.

USD / JPY: during the Asian session the pair fell to area of yesterday's low Y95.55.