Fitch Ratings: Italian bank ratings under pressure from sovereign risk

Haresh Menghani FXStreet

Italian banks face increased pressure on their ratings from sovereign-related risks, Fitch Ratings said in a report released this Friday.

Key highlights:

• Some Italian banks are likely to have experienced a meaningful decline in capital.
• A sovereign downgrade of Italy would likely to lead downgrades of BNL, Credem, Intesa, Mediobanca, Unicredit and Unipol Banca.
• Other Italian bank ratings would also come under pressure if refinancing conditions become more difficult or bank's assets weaken significantly.
• Expects the Italian bank's funding costs to increase in the medium term, second-tier banks more at risk.

Author

Haresh Menghani

FXStreet

Haresh Menghani is a detail-oriented professional with 10+ years of extensive experience in analysing the global financial markets.

EUR/USD remains offered below 1.1600, seems vulnerable near multi-month low

The EUR/USD pair struggles to capitalize on the overnight bounce from the 1.1530 region, or the lowest level since November 2025, and lower for the third consecutive day on Wednesday. Spot prices slide back below the 1.1600 mark during the Asian session and seem vulnerable to slide further.

GBP/USD slips below key averages as geopolitical risks mount

GBP/USD fell about 0.35% on Tuesday, settling around 1.3350 after slipping below the 200-day Exponential Moving Average for the first time since early December. The pair has pulled back sharply from its late-January high near 1.3870, shedding over 500 pips in a series of lower highs and lower lows.

Gold rebounds ahead of US ADP, will it last?

Gold finds renewed Asian bids and retests $5,230 early Wednesday after the heavy sell-off on Tuesday. The US Dollar stands tall amid escalating Middle East tensions and reduced dovish Fed expectations. Gold defends $5,000 or 50% Fibo level after facing rejection at the 78.6% Fibo resistance at $5,342 amid bullish RSI.

Bitcoin, Ethereum and Ripple struggle for direction as consolidation persists

Bitcoin, Ethereum and Ripple prices trade with a cautious tone at the time of writing on Wednesday as upside momentum continues to fade across the broader crypto market. BTC remains within a parallel channel, ETH struggles below key resistance, while XRP remains fragile within a descending channel. These top three cryptocurrencies by market capitalization continue to struggle to establish a directional bias amid the consolidation phase.

Energy shock 2.0: Why rising Gas prices could hit the Euro

Even without a confirmed, sustained disruption, the mere risk to a key global energy chokepoint is enough to inject a significant premium into European Gas markets. And for the Euro, that matters.

Ripple falters amid sell-off jitters and negative funding rates

Ripple (XRP) has come under pressure, drifting lower to $1.35 at the time of writing on Tuesday. The over 2% correction looks poised to erase the previous day’s gains, which lifted the remittance token to $1.42.