The euro continues to be under pressure on Wednesday after more downbeat news on the Greek debt crisis.
Earlier this morning the Handlesblatt news agency cited unnamed sources in the EU as saying that the Greek lending facility could total €90 billion over three years.
Meanwhile, an unnamed German government source said that the final bill could be “twice that much”.
An EU spokesperson vehemently denied the claims, saying the Handlesblatt article is based on “speculation”.
Adding to concerns were comments from the Fitch ratings agency saying that it won’t be long before Greece reaches out for aid from its friends.
In an interview with Bloomberg News, Fitch Ratings Director Christopher Pryce says Greece will likely be forced to activate its emergency lending facility with the EU and IMF within the next two weeks. He also pointed out that Greece needs to raise €11.6 billion by the end of May.
Portugal was also weighing on the euro’s gains on Wednesday after the EU said the nation may not meet 2010 budget goals.
Earlier this morning EU Monetary and Economics Commissioner Olli Rehn told audience in Brussels that Portugal will likely need to adopt additional measures in 2010 to meet its budget obligations, and that the economic forecasts which the nation had incorporated were too optimistic.
Rehn also said that financial aid needs to become “unattractive”, but declined to comment on how this could be done.
Both comments are weighing on the euro, which should be gaining on the back of declining risk aversion on the USD.
EUR/USD last traded lower by 3 pips at 1.3610 after trading between 1.3600 to 1.3665 so far today. Short term support lies at 1.3283, 1.3268 and then 1.3247 from May 6, 2009, followed by 1.3213 from two days before that, while resistance is at 1.3692, 1.3818 from March 17 followed by 1.3839 from February 9.
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