Reuters: US Dollar Report: FOREX-Euro rises 2nd day on Spain budget but gains seen limited

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FOREX-Euro rises 2nd day on Spain budget but gains seen limited Sep 28th 2012, 13:43 Fri Sep 28, 2012 9:43am EDT * Spain's budget soothes market, lifts euro * Gains may be limited with Moody's review on Spain due * Uncertainty over Spain aid request remains * Euro faces chart resistance at $1.2960, By Julie Haviv NEW YORK, Sept 28 (Reuters) - The euro rose against the dollar for a second straight session on Friday, recovering from a two-week low hit the previous day, as investors viewed Spain's recently unveiled budget as laying the groundwork for applying for financial aid. Analysts said the euro's gains may be limited as long as uncertainty persisted over when and whether Spain will request a bailout. Longer term, concerns Spain would be unable to implement its budget plans and bring down its deficit could weigh on the single currency. A bailout request by Spain is a precondition for the European Central Bank to start buying its debt to bring down its borrowing costs. Analysts and traders said this would lift the euro, but Spain has appeared reluctant to take that step. "But the euro may struggle to sustain gains for very long with investors skeptical over how successful Madrid would be in implementing the measures, while others fretted the country could soon see its credit rating cut to non-investment grade or so-called junk status," said Joe Manimbo, senior market analyst at Western Union Business Solutions in Washington D.C. The euro was last up 0.1 percent at $1.2928, firmly above Thursday's two-week low of $1.2828. "Risk appetite is coming back after the Spain budget," said Dag Muller, technical analyst at SEB, but he did not expect it to last. "It will translate into a fresh high for euro/dollar beyond $1.3173 and then the market will start to wobble". Madrid announced a detailed plan for economic reforms and a budget based mainly on spending cuts rather than tax measures, in what many analyst saw as an effort to pre-empt the conditions for a bailout. The euro is up about 2.1 percent on the quarter, thanks largely to expectations that Spain's borrowing costs will be brought down when the ECB starts buying Spanish debt. Trade on Friday was expected to be impacted by month-end rebalancing flows. MORE HURDLES Moody's rating agency is due to review Spain's sovereign rating by the end of this month and may downgrade it to junk status, while the Spanish government is also due to publish its full evaluation of the banking sector on Friday. "I expect the euro to gradually decline. There's a risk of credit downgrade on Spain. The talk between Greece and the troika may get nowhere. And the euro zone economy will be fragile," said Minori Uchida, chief currency analyst at the Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ in Tokyo. Indeed, much of the euro zone is mired in a recession, which should keep ECB monetary policy accommodative for quite some time. A rate cut may be in the pipeline as well, perhaps as soon as its monthly policy meeting next Thursday, analysts said. On Thursday, ratings agency Egan-Jones cut Spain's sovereign rating further into junk status, citing the country's banks and struggling regional governments. The euro faces chart resistance at $1.2960, the 38.2 percent retracement of its Sept. 17-27 slide. The 200-day moving average around $1.2825 is expected to serve as solid support, however. "It's positive that Spain is laying the groundwork for a bailout. But we still hear disharmony between the euro's 'northern league' and the south," said Ayako Sera, senior market economist at Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Bank in Tokyo. The Spanish budget goes to parliament on Saturday and debates could last weeks. Spain's 17 autonomous regions still must present budgets and find an additional five billion euros in adjustments to meet overall public deficit reduction goals. The euro last traded up 0.3 percent to 100.52 yen, recovering from Thursday's two-week low of 99.64. The dollar also gained against the yen, trading 0.3 percent higher at 77.78 yen, according to Reuters data. Link this Share this Digg this Email Reprints

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