The economic plight that has hung over the Eurozone worsened significantly after the election of the as fears of the debt owed by the nation never being repaid amassed, and Mario Draghi’s commitment to buying 60 billion euros worth of assets per month until late 2016 as part of a quantitative easing program demonstrated the gravity of the Eurozone’s situation.
The resultant depreciation of the Euro put it almost on a par in terms of value with the US dollar, the European single currency’s lowest point in over 11 years, however today the British Pound has been the subject of a low valuation against the dollar as it hits a 5 year low, trading at 1.4660.
As far as trading these majors is concerned, the Euro, after a brief respite, has restarted its downward direction toward EURUSD parity, but other currencies are also being affected including the British Pound, and FX volatility remains high. Indeed, during March, many FX firms experienced an upturn in trading volumes after a flat February.
Britain, although not part of the Eurozone, is very much part of the European Union, and therefore the burden of several years worth of financial delinquency of many European Union member states and the apparent apathy in turning their situations around has worn heavy on the British economy as the nation which hosts the world’s largest financial center foots a costly bill in supporting nations in mainland Europe whose economies are floundering.
With the General Election approaching, volatility could indeed increase as a close race between the Conservative and Labour parties continues.
Chart courtesy of Google Finance