Euro drops to its lowest versus Japanese Yen

The euro touched the lowest level in more than 11 years against the yen as concern escalated that Europe’s debt crisis is deepening.       

The 17-nation currency continued its decline against the dollar into a fourth day as a surge in Spain’s 10-year note yields toward a euro-era record last week dimmed the outlook for a bill sale tomorrow. The yen and dollar strengthened against most of their major peers on increased demand for a haven as Greece’s creditors assess the country’s progress in meeting its bailout targets.             

The common currency touched 94.63 yen, the lowest since November 2000, and traded at 94.67 as of 12:51 p.m. in Tokyo, 0.8 percent lower than the close in New York on July 20. It declined 0.4 percent to $1.2113 after sliding to as low as $1.2106, a level unseen since June 2010. The yen climbed 0.4 percent to 78.15 per dollar.          

Spain, the euro region’s fourth-biggest economy, will auction bills tomorrow maturing in three and six months. The nation’s benchmark 10-year yield climbed to 7.284 percent on July 20, almost matching the euro-era record 7.285 percent reached a month ago.