Around 11:20 am, the euro took 0.40% to 1.1352 dollars for one euro.
The euro gained ground on Tuesday once morest the US dollar, benefiting from risk appetite as the situation in Ukraine eased slightly, which also pushed gold away from an earlier high.
Around 10:20 a.m. GMT (11:20 a.m. CET), the euro took 0.40% to 1.1352 dollars for one euro.
The Kremlin confirmed on Tuesday the start of a withdrawal of Russian forces stationed near the borders of Ukraine, a first sign of relaxation, their presence raising fears for weeks of an invasion, once morest a backdrop of Russian-Western tensions.
A rise in the Ukrainian crisis might weigh on the economy of the euro zone, for example by further disrupting the delivery of Russian gas to the West, and benefits the dollar, a safe haven.
“A return to calm, mixed with good European fundamentals (ZEW index to follow in Germany at the end of the morning) might help the euro to rebound”, comments Guillaume Dejean, analyst at Western Union.
Geopolitical tensions have recently benefited another safe haven, gold: the price of an ounce rose at the start of the session to 1,879.55 dollars, its highest since June 2021, before falling (-0.9% at $1,854.70).
Markets.com analyst Neil Wilson, however, warns once morest a bullish bet on the gold market if the crisis worsens: “Couldn’t Russia sell off some of its massive gold reserves to bolster currency in the event of economic sanctions?” he asks.
In this volatile context, the British pound reacted in a mixed way to the latest employment figures (+0.23% once morest the greenback at 1.3559 pounds for the dollar, -0.18% once morest the euro at 83 .73 pence for one euro).
The unemployment rate held steady at 4.1% in the UK for the three months to the end of December, thus resisting the impact of the Omicron variant.
“The concern for the Bank of England is hiding in the wage data,” said Derek Halpenny, analyst at MUFG.
Wages continued to rise in the United Kingdom, but did not keep up with the rise in inflation, and the British therefore saw their wages in real terms fall over the same period.
“There is the potential for the situation to get out of control. Employees are asking for more to cover their costs, and employers have to raise their prices,” said Danni Hewson, analyst at AJ Bell.
