Euro drops as leaders fail to urge ECB action

Eurozone leaders' failure to call for ECB intervention on the continent's debt crisis at a press conference yesterday caused the euro to fall to a seven week low against the dollar.

German chancellor Angela Merkel, new Italian prime minister Mario Monti and French president Nicolas Sarkozy placed emphasis on calls for fiscal union, according to a report in the FT. The euro fell from $1.338 against the US dollar at the start of the leaders' press conference to a low of $1.3299, its lowest level since 6 October. The single currency is set for a 1.6% drop against the dollar this week, according to Bloomberg. It is thought markets were unimpressed with the leaders' emphasis on fiscal governance rather than calling for stronger intervention from the ECB as they discus...