While the equity markets have responded sharply to civil unrest in the Middle East, movement in the currency markets has been more muted, with investors more interested in the prospect of interest rates than country risk.

Equities have suffered sharply as a result of concerns around political upheaval in the Middle East, with the S&P 500 experiencing its largest one-day slide since August 2010 following comments by Libyan leader Colonel Muammar Gadaffi that he would fight to stay in power until "his last drop of blood".