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IMM currencies end mixed, euro futures recover

CHICAGO: IMM currency futures ended mixed Monday, with euro futures clawing closer to session highs before the end of pit trade.

Euro futures spent much of the session recovering from overnight losses. The March euro pierced intraday resistance at $0.96890, the former all-time low, and slipped back below it several times, only to close above there.

March euros opened sharply weaker after spiraling lower overnight to a new all-time low of $0.94400. Traders said the strength of the US economy compared to that of a recovering Eurozone, as well as selling of the euro/yen, pressured the contract.

The contract pared losses during pit trade on sentiment that the contract's spike lower was overdone, analysts said. Bargain hunters also helped lift nearby euros as well.

"As cooler heads prevailed, they realised this is a buying opportunity," said Marc Chandler, chief currency strategist at Mellon Bank.

Comments from Eurozone officials Monday sent the market conflicting signals and did not have much net effect on price action.

Bank of France chief Jean-Claude Trichet said he was not happy with the euro's current levels.

However, finance officials from the Eurozone's 11 nations declined to comment on the euro after a regular meeting. Italy's Treasury Minister Guiliano Amato said the group agreed unanimously that a statement on the euro was unnecessary.

"The thing about all of these comments is, every single official has something different to say," said one analyst for a large brokerage firm in Chicago.

March yen ended higher but off session highs. The contract got a boost overnight from selling euro/yen, support that spilled over into the day session. Chandler called the yen's strength "residual" to euro weakness.

March sterling pushed higher and then pared gains during before the close, but Chandler called the currency's recovery "impressive."

Bank of England Deputy Governor David Clementi said there may be an opportunity to delay another increase in interest rates. The news had little immediate effect on March sterling.

At settlement, March yen was up $0.000073 at $0.009173, euros off $0.00250 at $0.97270, Swiss francs off $0.0011 at $0.6057, sterling up $0.0006 at $1.5942, Canadian dollars off $0.0004 at $0.6898, Australian dollars off $0.0021 at $0.6136 and Mexican pesos up $0.000050 at $0.106150.-Reuters