The euro only avoided being the weakest currency performer this week after its companion star, the Swiss franc, made an even worse fist of it, according to Moneycorp's Chris Redfern.
The franc fell to its weakest level against the euro in three months after Credit Suisse announced that it would be charging its institutional clients a negative rate of interest on their Swiss franc deposits.
It was not the only mention of negative interest rates last week. On Thursday the European Central Bank president told his monthly press conference that the Governing Council had discussed negative euro interest rates. 'While there was no decision to move in that direction at the December council meeting, investors did not like the idea at all and they sold the euro,' said Redfern.
The single currency came in for more punishment on Monday morning on the back of the news that Mario Monti, the technocrat Italian prime minister, would be resigning and that the discredited Silvio Berlusconi would be seeking election in his place.
Sterling ambled along in the middle of the field this week, unchanged against the US dollar and the yen.
