The European currency posted its largest monthly depreciation against the yen, losing ground against the dollar as well, on the back of fears concerning Greece"s financial situation.
On Friday, the Euro dropped to 125.13 yen, down 6.1% from December 31st. During January"s last trading day, the Euro dropped to 124.2 yen, the lowest level since April 28th, 2009.
Also on Friday, the Euro reached 1.3863 against the dollar, down 3.2% compared to December 31st 2009. On January 29th, the Euro reached 1.3862 against the USD, its lowest level since July 9th, 2009.
Analysts say that Greece"s situation will continue to erode investor confidence in the viability of the Euro.
On the other hand, the dollar is being boosted by the evolution of the American economy. At the end of last week, the Trade Department announced that the US economy grew 5.7% in Q4 2009, compared to Q4 2008. This is the highest growth rate in the last six years and significantly beat analyst estimates of 4.7%.
At the end of this week, the American administration will announce the numbers concerning the labor market. The analysts expect 13,000 new jobs have been created in January.