Currency Alerts
11/26/2009 9:30 AM ET
(RTTNews) -
Sweden's currency slumped versus the US dollar on Thursday morning after the Riksbank said in a statement that major Swedish banks have improved their resilience. Traders also weighed a report showing that the nation's exports and imports values were down by 20 percent and 18 percent, respectively in October compared with the corresponding period last year.
"The financial markets have begun to function better and the recession appears to have bottomed out," the central bank said in its Financial Stability Report. "Loan losses in the bank system are therefore expected to be lower than was assessed in June."
However, the central bank noted that future developments are uncertain and the risks are still considerable. But, the banks have sufficient capital to meet larger losses than in the main scenario.
Sweden posted a foreign trade surplus of SEK 5.1 billion in October, according to government's preliminary calculations, compared to SEK 9.0 billion surplus recorded in October 2008. Exports totaled SEK 86.1 billion in October, while imports were valued at SEK 81.0 billion.
The Swedish krona has depreciated 1.7 percent against the US dollar to touch a 2-day low of 6.9553 before leveling off around 8:35 am ET. On the downside, the domestic currency is likely to test support near the 6.982 level. The pair, which closed yesterday's deals at 6.8507, is presently quoted at 6.9503.
by RTT Staff Writer
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