NEW YORK: The euro recovered from a four-month low against the dollar to trade little changed against the dollar Thursday but was expected to remain under pressure as concerns mount about periphery euro zone banks and the prospect of contagion if Greece exits the euro. Growing aversion to risk drove investors towards the safety of the US dollar, which rose to a four-month high against a basket of currencies, while the euro also dropped to a three-month low versus the yen. Talk of possible Spanish bank downgrades pushed European equities sharply lower. Shares in Spanish lender Bankia fell more than 20 percent following a report in the El Mundo newspaper that its customers had withdrawn more than 1 billion euros from their accounts over the past week. This followed news on Wednesday that the European Central Bank had stopped providing liquidity to some Greek banks because they had not been successfully recapitalised. Investors were ...

TORONTO: The Canadian dollar skidded against its US counterpart o n W ednesday as broader uncertainty over Greece's future in the euro zone weighed on global equity, commodity and currency markets. The Canadian dollar, which touched a 16-week low of C$1.0131, or 98.71 US cents, against the greenback, moved in tandem with the euro on news the European Central Bank has stopped funding operations for some Greek banks. The euro dropped to a four-month low against the US dollar o n W ednesday, sliding for a fourth consecutive session and likely to face more losses on fears about a Greek exit from the euro zone. "The Canadian dollar is pretty much focused on concerns around European issues," said Greg Moore, FX Strategist at TD Securities. The Canadian dollar ended at C$1.0127 versus the US dollar, or 98.75 US cents, below Tuesday's North American session close at $1.0068, or 99.32 US cents. Canada's currency underperformed ...

TORONTO: The Canadian dollar hit a three-month low against its US counterpart on Tuesday after Greece said it would hold new elections, increasing investor fears about the country's possible exit from the euro zone. Attempts to form a government in Greece collapsed on Tuesday, jolting financial markets with the prospect that leftists opposed to the terms of an EU bailout could sweep to victory in a June vote. The news prompted heavy selling of stocks and commodity-linked currencies such as the Canadian dollar. Against the euro, however, the Canadian currency rallied to C$1.2775, or 78.28 euro cents, its strongest level since January 2011. It also gained against other major European currencies including the Swiss franc, sterling and the Swedish and Norwegian crowns. "A lot of traders are looking to trade the CAD versus the crosses like the pound, the yen and the euro versus dollar/CAD by itself," said Gareth Sylvester, senior currency strategist at ...