Euro Weakens As Sovereign Debt Demons Resurface

Euro Weakens As Sovereign Debt Demons Resurface

The euro was weaker across the board on Thursday after a report in a German newspaper brought Europe's sovereign debt crisis back to the forefront.

German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble said that Greece may need to negotiate with creditors, according to Germany's Die Welt newspaper.

And with Portugal's rescue terms not officially hammered out, the markets will be focused intently on whether the sovereign debt dilemma take a dangerous new turn.

The euro has surged higher in recent days versus the dollar, but gave back some ground this morning in New York, dropping to $1.4364 before steadying near $1.4420.

The euro touched a 16-month peak of $1.4519 earlier this week, supported by speculation that theEuropean Central Bank will continue to hike interest rates following April's modest tightening measure.

In economic news from the U.S., the Labor Department released a report on Thursday showing that producer prices increased by less than anticipated for the month. The Labor Department said its producer price index rose by 0.7 percent in March following a 1.6 percent increase in February.

First-time claims for unemployment ticked up last week, according to a report released by the Department of Labor Thursday. The surprisingly sharp advance took the figure back across the 400,000 mark.

The euro touched a 7-week low of CHF 1.2843 versus the Swiss franc, and weekly low of Y119.25versus the yen.