The euro remains under pressure due to European debt concerns The euro remains near 11-month lows against the US dollar as European debt concerns continue to focus on Portugal.
With the Portuguese government due to auction 500m euros ($651m; £418m) of bonds later, analysts are waiting to see the extent of market interest.
It comes a day after ratings agency Standard & Poor’s placed Portugal on credit watch due to the country’s huge debts.
Meanwhile, Portugal’s central bank warned of the risks facing its banks.
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It said they faced an “intolerable risk” if the government in Lisbon failed to consolidate public finances.
In early Wednesday trading, the euro was up slightly to $1.3020 from its Tuesday low of $1.2969.
Meanwhile, on the bond markets, the yield on Portuguese bonds was stable at 6.97%.
The higher the yield, the less confidence investors have in the bond.
The yield on German bonds remained around 2.67%.
With the Republic of Ireland getting a European Union-led bail-out last week, the concern in some quarters is that Portugal may be the next country that needs assistance.
“The general feeling is that this is a mess that is not going to be easily escaped,” said analyst Robert Ryan of BNP Paribas in Singapore.
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