skip to main content

Euro steadies above eight-month low

Euro - Modest boost from G7 assurances
Euro - Modest boost from G7 assurances

The euro steadied this evening, but still remained near an eight-month low, after euro zone finance chiefs reassured their Group of Seven counterparts over Greece's deepening debt troubles.

The euro stood at $1.37 this evening, after sliding to as low as $1.3586 in New York on Friday.

Dealers said the European currency received a modest boost from remarks by euro zone finance officials at the G7 talks in Canada on Greece's efforts to rein in its public debt of more than €294 billion.

'The European members of the G7 have confirmed to the other partners of the G7 the substance and the significance of the debt-reduction plan put together by Greece, and that they are confident that it will be managed,' French Economy Minister Christine Lagarde said.

The single European currency has been hammered by worries that debt-ridden countries such as Greece, Spain and Portugal may be unable to restore stability to their public finances, having spent heavily to combat recession.

Investors are now looking ahead to the European reports on economic growth, due for release later this week.