(RTTNews) - The euro traded lower against other major opponents on Friday, extending its slide this week as investors dumped the single currency on deepening worries over the European nations.
The European Central Bank and a majority of Eurozone nations are urging Portugal to follow Ireland's example by formally applying for a bailout from the European rescue fund, Financial Times Deutschland reported today.
Without disclosing sources, the paper said by putting pressure on Portugal to seek aid, the ECB aims to prevent a collapse of Spain as it would automatically ease the pressure of the latter, whose banks have high involvement in Portugal.
Ireland on Sunday formally requested for a bailout from the European Union and the International Monetary Fund to repair the country's public finances and its banking system. Based on the experience derived from the Greek crisis, the EU was quick in responding to Dublin's pressing conditions.
Irish Finance Minister Brian Lenihan said yesterday that while the size of a bailout from the European Union and the International Monetary Fund hasn't yet been determined, an amount of around 85 billion euros "has been mentioned." The government said this week it will cut spending by about 20 percent and raise taxes over the next four years.
Investors also remained cautious ahead of a four-day joint naval exercise by the U.S. and South Korea in the Yellow Sea on Sunday, following North Korea's shelling of a South Koran island there earlier this week.
Asian stocks tumbled today, with South Korea's Kospi declining 1.3% amid tensions in the Korean peninsula.
Also, Japan's Nikkei 225 index fell 0.4%, Hong Kong's Hang Seng slipped 0.9%, China's Shangai composite index dropped 1% and Taiwan's main index plunged 0.5%.
But the Australian stocks closed slightly higher and the New Zealand stocks ended flat.
Following weak Asian equities, the European stocks also opened lower. Germany's DAX fell 0.8% thus far, France's CAC 40 index plunged 1.4% and U.K.'s FTSE 100 index lost 1.1%.
Extending its Asian session fall, the euro declined further against the US dollar in today's European deals and fell to a fresh multi-month low of 1.3219 by about 4:40 am ET.
The euro plunged further against the Swiss franc and the Japanese yen in European morning session and tumbled to 2-day lows of 1.3244 and 110.93, respectively, by about 4:40 am ET.
Against its British counterpart, the euro also edged down in European morning and slipped to a 2-day low of 0.8433 as of 4:05 am ET. The euro-pound pair is currently trading near 0.8449.
