BUZZ-COMMENT-Investors focused on euro may find it easier to hedge

Feb 21 (Reuters) - While the dollar is usually at the centre of attention with much of that focused upon EUR/USD, easier monetary policy in the euro zone is having a much more telling influence on the euro which is falling speedily and extensively. Those who focus on this significant drop for the euro may find it easier to hedge.

Ultimately EUR/USD which has broken lower out of long held ranges will be dragged down too, and at that point the influence of the most heavily traded currency pair will undoubtedly steer attention toward the dollar, but it is the euro's potential to create that situation that currently matters.

The euro is falling fast, far, and the scope of its slide has recently broadened, encompassing not just those currencies with interest rates higher than those in the euro zone, but also those with far lower interest rates.

This implies investors are not only establishing carry trades by selling euros to buy higher yielding currencies, but also unwinding those which they have held for a very long time against funding currencies like the yen, Swiss franc, Thai baht and Taiwanese dollar.

On a trade-weighted basis the euro has lost about 3% of its value since last August reaching 93.76 in January. The drop below 93.90 which was the target for a minor correction of gains fuelled by interest rate rises, suggested the euro would undergo a more substantial reverse.

Falls between 2.5%-3.0% versus the yen and Sweden's crown currently stand out in February, but with euro dropping more than 1% against many currencies when it has rinse 0.7% versus dollar, its trade-weighted value may be substantially lower when data is updated at the start of March.