With global markets in seemingly complete meltdown, riskier currencies such as the British pound and the euro as well as the Australian and New Zealand dollars all fell against their safe haven US dollar, Japanese yen and Swiss franc counterparts.

Sterling

The pound slumped to its lowest level in almost a year against the dollar but held firm against the euro. The recurrent theme of investors continuing to abandon risky assets to seek sanctity in the safe haven dollar, weighed heavily against the pound. Furthermore, the well-documented problems in the European Central Bank, including Spain's weekend takeover of the savings bank CajaSur, has triggered a broad wave of risk aversion.

US dollar

The dollar was able to capitalise on the contagion of severe problems in the eurozone. It rose to a four year high against the euro and touched upon a one year high against the pound as the severe problems in the eurozone have led to a widespread abandonment of risky assets and investors sought the safety of the US dollar.

Euro

The euro fell to a four-year trough against the US dollar and an eight and a half year low against the yen after further banking concerns in Spain. The severe pressure on the euro was enhanced by news that four of Spain's smaller banks had announced a seemingly emergency merger. Although all involved banks are relatively small, analysts harbour the belief that they have highlighted severe weaknesses in the European banking sector, fuelling worries that more banks may need to be bailed out at a time when European Union governments are trying to repair their public finances.

Japanese yen

The Japanese yen's continued its meteoric rise and hit a one year high against the pound and an eight-and-half-year high against the euro.