Irish bond prices fell sharply on Friday after fears increased that the country will need to turn to the international community to bail out its economy. A report from Barclays Capital which said the Irish government may need to seek outside help if further unexpected financial sector losses materialised and economic conditions deteriorated, sparked the selling. Yields on Irish two-year bonds, which have an inverse relationship with prices, rose by half a percentage point to 3.63 per cent, forcing the European Central Bank to intervene to prop up the Dublin markets, traders said. Although the ECB was only seen to be buying small amounts of Irish bonds, it further emphasises the difficulties faced by Ireland and other weaker eurozone economies. Domenico Crapanzano, head of euro rates trading at Jefferies, said: âThere are just no buyers out there for Ireland because of worries over its economy.â Worries over Ireland also put Portuguese bond markets under pressure because there are also concerns that Lisbon will have to turn to the international community for financial assistance too. Portugal, which is also considered a problem by many investors because they fear the government is not introducing economic reform quickly enough, saw its 2-year bond yields rise nearly a quarter of a point to 3.50 per cent. http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/ddc388ec-c25e-11df-a91c-00144feab49a.html So, basically the EUR/USD still trading above 1.30 ? The Euro is dead, long live the Euro.