Currency traders look for signs of further rescue buying

The euro drifted lower against the dollar and yen Monday as traders waited to see whether the Group of Seven industrialized nations would follow up on last week’s intervention with fresh euro buying. In afternoon trading in New York, the euro slipped to session lows just above 87 cents , pulling farther away from last Friday’s intervention peak above 90 cents but still well above the euro’s record lows below 84.40 cents. In the absence of further central bank action, dealers say the single currency will keep grinding lower. “I think the market is going to be looking for further intervention but I think the euro will struggle to make gains above $0.8850 through this session,” one currency dealer said. On Friday, all G7 central banks intervened in concert to boost the sagging euro on foreign exchanges — the first coordinated intervention since 1995, stunning traders who had been betting the United States would not agree to sell dollars shead of presidential elections in November. It was also the first time the European Central Bank had intervened since its birth 20 months ago. The G7 finance ministers and central bankers meeting on Saturday reinforced the move, issuing a communique that stressed concern over the euro and made plain they were ready to do it again.