Political Infighting Takes Toll on Euro

Disagreement over the vision of the eurozone is starting to take its toll on the euro. Lack of unified leadership at a time of economic difficult and continued sovereign debt crisis is contributing to the euro hitting a six week low in earlier trading. French President Francois Hollande is once again pressing for greater integration in the eurozone, and the ECB has been announced as the bank supervisor for the eurozone.
However, even though the French president is interested in greater integration, his vision for the euro is not being greeted with enthusiasm from everyone. Brussels isn’t excited about it, and it’s not very popular in Berlin, either. Indeed, German Chancellor Angela Merkel has been skeptical of the idea of greater integration in the eurozone for some time. Between the recently disappointing economic data in the eurozone (particularly the last ZEW reading) and the lack of unified leadership amongst the major players in the 17-nation currency region, it is little surprise that the euro is struggling today. Earlier, euro hit a six-week low, and it will be difficult for the euro to overcome its issues. At 17:21 GMT EUR/USD is down to 1.2829 from the open at 1.2882. EUR/GBP is up to 0.8456 from the open at 0.8436. EUR/JPY is up to 132.2255 from the open at 131.7450. If you have any questions, comments or opinions regarding the Euro, feel free to post them using the commentary form below.