Euro down on ECB comments

With dollar up on risk aversion, triggered by fears of a pandemic swine flu (with 150 cases in Mexico, 40 in the U.S., and some cases in the U.K, Spain, and New Zealand), Euro was the bigger loser today, falling as far as 1.3000. The hegemonic currency fell also after ECB Council member Ewald Nowotny said euro zone rates will stay low for a long time and the ECB is ready to use quantitative easing measures if needed. Also, ECB President, Jean Claude Trichet, told in New York Monday that lowering interest rates is not necessarily the best way to fight a recession. 

“Our actions have been different from those taken by other central banks, reflecting differences in economic and financial structures. Indeed, given the different economic structures, they need to be different to reach the same objective," Trichet said.

Wall Street lost early winnings, and fell 51 points or 0.6%