LONDON (Reuters) – Demand for U.S. {dollars} within the foreign money by-product markets surged on Friday to its highest since mid-December, after a meltdown in U.S. banking shares ignited a wave of investor danger aversion.

Three-month euro/greenback cross foreign money foundation swap spreads traded as negatively as -17 foundation factors, essentially the most since December 14, reflecting a pickup in demand for laborious money. They had been final buying and selling at -14.

An index of European banks was heading for its greatest one-day fall since final June, as shares within the area’s greatest lenders dropped in sympathy with a steep decline within the worth of Wall Road’s greatest lenders on Thursday.