Around 11:15 a.m., the euro took 0.15% to 1.0243 dollars.
The euro rose for the fourth consecutive session once morest the dollar on Wednesday on the eve of a meeting of the European Central Bank and the possible resumption of Russian gas exports via the Nord Stream 1 gas pipeline.
Around 09:15 GMT (11:15 CET), the euro took 0.15% to 1.0243 dollars.
Since hitting a low since late 2002 at $0.9952 on Thursday, the euro has rallied 2.9%, but remains down 2.5% since the start of the month and almost 10% since. the beginning of the year.
The European Central Bank (ECB) will raise rates at its meeting on Thursday to counter inflation.
While the ECB signaled a 25 basis point hike at its last meeting, it might opt for a 50 basis point hike, according to press reports.
“The markets don’t want to bet on the dollar ahead of tomorrow’s meeting,” said Stephen Innes, analyst at SPI AM.
The market is also watching Thursday’s expected resumption of the Nord Stream 1 gas pipeline, as fears of a disruption in Russian gas exports weighed on the euro.
If the pipeline were closed for long-planned maintenance work, Moscow might want to pressure European Union members into the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Finally, currency traders were watching the debates in the Italian parliament, where an intervention by Prime Minister Mario Draghi will be followed by a vote of confidence.
An Italian political crisis increases the risk of European debt fragmentation, when borrowing rates diverge between eurozone countries.
“For the ECB to consider a 50 point hike in times of instability in Italy, that means they’re going to come up with something solid to avoid fragmentation,” Deutsche Bank analysts said.
