© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: A U.S. one dollar banknote is seen in this illustration taken November 23, 2021. REUTERS/Murad Sezer/Illustration/File Photo
LONDON (Reuters) - Demand for U.S. dollars in the currency derivative markets surged on Friday to its highest since mid-December, after a meltdown in U.S. banking stocks ignited a wave of investor risk aversion.
Three-month euro/dollar cross currency basis swap spreads traded as negatively as -17 basis points, the most since December 14, reflecting a pickup in demand for hard cash. They were last trading at -14.
An index of European banks was heading for its biggest one-day fall since last June, as shares in the region's biggest lenders dropped in sympathy with a steep decline in the value of Wall Street's biggest lenders on Thursday.
