Greek debt restructuring dents the Euro

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Eurozone first quarter gross domestic product growth showed overall growth of 0.8% in Q1, a figure astonishingly match by Greece. Germany put in a strong 1.5%, France 1.0% however, they were overshadowed by Lithuania who posted 3.5% growth.

Despite these figures, investors were notably concerned about the restructuring of Greek government debt as the Euro lost a Yen, more than one and a half US Dollars and a cent to Sterling. The absence of IMF head Dominique Strauss-Kahn, arrested in the US on sexual assault charges, will be of no help whatsoever to the negotiations about resolving the Greek debt crisis however, the Euro hasn't been under more pressure first thing this morning.

In the US, consumer price inflation pushed the US Dollar higher on Friday, jumping in April to 3.2% from 2.7% in March. Not that the numbers were wildly different to expectations, the increase in inflation has given the US Federal Open Market Committee a little bit more to think about.

• The strengthening of the US Dollar on Friday was due, in the opinion of investors, because the US inflation situation makes higher interest rates more likely and, with the Euro out of favour, they bought US Dollars. The University of Michigan's index of consumer sentiment helped reinforce that decision when it came in two and a half points higher than forecast at 72.4.

The UK has an important week this week with key releases, such as April Consumer Price Inflation (CPI), employment and labour market figures, the April retail sales figures and minutes from the May meeting of the Bank of England's monetary policy committee. The inflation report last week indicated that they expect CPI inflation to peak at 5%, so the April figures will prove interesting to see whether CPI inflation bounces much in April.