Forex Flash: Euro advance sparked by disparity of Fed/ECB balance sheets – BBH

Brown Brothers Harriman analysts note that EUR/USd has really sprung into life as the market have fixated on the shrinking ECB balance sheet at the same time that the Fed´s is growing.

Further, they note that German newspaper Die Welt has reported that Ireland and Portugal are pressing their case for triggering the ECB’s OMT, under which it would buy short-term coupons in the secondary market. They feel that this would of course expand its balance sheet. There appears to be resistance to this effort and the threat of OMT may be more potent than its actual use.