Euro falls on Spain bailout fears

The single currency sank below 1.24 dollars on Wednesday, touching a low point last seen on July 6, 2010.

As the Spanish economic turmoil continues to grow, its borrowing rates approached the 7 percent mark considered unsustainable for governments to service their debts.

Economists say that if yields stay so high the Spanish government will have to seek an international bailout despite Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy’s earlier assurances that Madrid would not need to do so.

The recent development comes as Spain’s central bank stated in a report on Tuesday that the country’s ailing economy will shrink in the second quarter of 2012.

Official data has revealed that the economy plunged 0.3 percent in the last quarter of 2011 and again by the same amount in the first quarter of 2012.

Also on Tuesday Bank of Spain’s Governor Miguel Angel Fernandez Ordonez resigned, one month before the end of his term amid increasing criticism of his handling of the banking crisis.

According to a recent report by Financial Times stocks trading in Spanish markets have reached the lowest level while the borrowing cost for the country has hit a record high.

Battered by the global financial downturn, the Spanish economy collapsed into recession in the second half of 2008, taking with it millions of jobs.

MR/JR/AZ

You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.

Leave a Reply

Powered by WordPress | Designed by: Premium WordPress Themes | Thanks to Themes Gallery, Bromoney and Wordpress Themes