Euro exchange traded funds were rising Friday and may be getting support from Asian investors who are reportedly moving into the currency.
Pimco’s Bill Gross told CNBC on Friday that there are signs that China is supporting troubled European bond markets.
CurrencyShares Euro Trust (NYSEArca: FXE) and WisdomTree Dreyfus Euro Fund (NYSEArca: EU) are ETFs that track the movement of the euro versus the dollar. They’re down this month but have stabilized lately.
The euro currency appreciated against 14 of its 16 most-traded counterparts after European Financial Stability Facility Chief Executive Officer Klaus Regling stated that Asian investors could purchase Portugal bailout bonds in June, reports Peter Spiegel for Financial Times. Regling also remarks that Asian investors could just be finding secure investments to put their growing wealth, rather than openly endorsing the European financial environment.
“They don’t want to go only into one currency. They don’t want to go only into one asset class,” comments Mr. Regling. “They look at us and come to the conclusion it’s a good way to diversify.”
Imre Speizer, a strategist in Auckland at Westpac Banking Corp., believes that “China’s interest is definitely a short-term positive,” reports Candice Zachariahs for Bloomberg. “The longer-term issue of a restructuring of some sort for Greece remains in the background and may be an obstacle to a longer-term rally in the euro,” cautions Speizer.