Euro rallies as 5 Star calls for withdrawal of economic minister
The euro strengthened further Wednesday midday trade in New York, following a Reuters report (Reuters via New York Times) indicating that Italy’s 5 Star Movement was calling for the withdrawal of Paolo Savona as the antiestablishment party’s pick to be economic minister. The populist 5 Star party has been trying to form a government with the right-wing League party, but Italian President Sergio Mattarella rejected their pick of euroskeptic Savona on Monday. Should the parties be unable to resolve the issue, Italy will likely returned to the polls in the coming months to conduct a fresh election. Fear of this outcome had dragged the euro to a 10-month low, as Italian bond yields, which move inversely to prices, shot to a high of 3.3%. The euro last fetched $1.1657, up 1.1% according to FactSet, and the 10-year note yielded 2.898%.