EU Morning Report – SNB Hilderband quits, CHF strengthens

The euro recorded mixed results against its major counterparts as the meeting between French President Sarcozy and German Chancellor Merkel did not produce any headlines for the markets. German trade data came out stronger than expected, while Greece’s PSI agreement came again into the spotlight. Greece will have to perform EUR 14.5 billion bond redemption on March 20th and this date appears to be the next focal point in this drama. Without additional financing, the debt-ridden nation could be forced into a default. Versus the US dollar, the single currency rose to 1.2772 from 1.2724. Against the Swiss franc, the euro fell to 1.2110 from 1.2160, following the resignation of SNB President Hildebrand. His credibility was damaged after a profitable US dollar -Swiss franc currency trade by his wife, a few weeks before the SNB announced a ceiling on the franc’s appreciation. It will be interesting to observe how market participants and the SNB will react after this development.

The US dollar was softer against a basket of currencies as Consumer Credit for November came out much higher than expected. Versus the Swiss franc, the US dollar drop to 0.9481 from 0.9540. Against the Canadian dollar, the greenback moved down to 1.0225 from 1.0306. Versus the Japanese yen, the US dollar opened at 76.91 and closed at 76.86.

The Australian dollar advanced to 1.0251 from 1.0188 versus the US dollar. The British pound rose to 1.5457 from 1.5430 versus the US dollar.

Oil prices slid to 101.10 dollars a barrel from 101.17. Gold dropped to 1611.61 dollars an ounce from 1614.00. Silver moved up to 28.9920 dollars an ounce from 28.7765.

Equities	EUROPE				US				ASIA3
	FTSE 100	-0.66%			S&P 500	0.23%			NIKKEI	0.38%
	DAX	-0.67%			DJIA	0.27%			HIS	0.78%
	CAC	-0.31%			NASDAQ	0.09%			CSI 300	3.33%

Labels: australian dollar, french president, german chancellor merkel, Hilderband, market participants, swiss franc currency, swiss national bank