S amp P downgrade could force Spain into aid request
The US ratings agency S&P cut Spain’s rating by two notches to BBB- (just one notch above ‘junk’ status), with the outlook remaining negative. The […]
The US ratings agency S&P cut Spain’s rating by two notches to BBB- (just one notch above ‘junk’ status), with the outlook remaining negative. The timing of the announcement came as the US session finished and with market liquidity at a premium the single currency dived 50 points but held the 200-day moving average at 1.2822.
The risk from here is that the downgrade adds pressure to Spanish yields thus forcing Spain to ask for aid. Spain will today launch a private placement of 2015/2016/2017 bonds, ending Wednesday, October 17. The placement, totalling €4.86bn, will finance part of the country’s regional liquidity fund. After the rating downgrade, this will be keenly watched.
The Australian jobs report has been taken as a strong positive with the headline number showing a strong gain of 14.5k against the 5k predicted. Full time employment outperformed to 32.1k, whilst part-time employment was weaker at -17.7k. The unemployment rate is higher than expected but that seems to be because the participation rate has gone up from 65% to 65.2%. Overall this is a very good set of numbers.
EUR/USD
Supports 1.2820-1.2755-1.2680 | Resistance 1.2880-1.2910-1.2935
USD/JPY
Supports 77.80-77.40-77.05 | Resistance 78.25-78.50-78.80
GBP/USD
Supports 1.5985-1.5960-1.5910 | Resistance 1.6030-1.6070-1.6120