A nearly $0.01 drop in the value over the course of an hour sent traders reeling this morning, renewing fears that the eurozone debt crisis is a very real threat, indeed.
The euro bottomed out around $1.2920 before recovering slightly later in the trading day. It also marked a 10-year low against the Japanese yen.
Perhaps most troublesome was the fact that the move came seemingly without any major impetus. The wires have remained quiet all day after a relatively successful Italian bond auction this morning. This suggests that sentiment has once again turned against prospects for a swift resolution for the European crisis, after the European Central Bank conducted an unprecedented long-term bank lending operation last week.
The British pound sterling accompanied the euro free fall, falling even more dramatically from over $1.5650 to around $1.5460. Markets also appeared to accompany this drop in the euro, making for a negative open in the U.S. and moving from green to red across the pond.
Check out the euro's progress against the dollar today:
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