Something which took many currency traders by surprise this summer was the ECB delivering one of its rarest verbal interventions, just at the point when the EURUSD crossed the 1.20 rate. There is an unwritten agreement, a gentlemen’s agreement, if you may, between the G20 countries, not to comment on exchange rates. For the ECB to try to talk down the Euro just a couple of weeks ahead of its regular meeting was not only new, but also strange. By agreeing to refrain from competitive devaluation, the G20 countries planned to avoid boosting exports and avoid current account developments at the expense of other nations. ... (full story)