By 9:10 p.m., the single currency was down to just $1.0061, down 1.21% after earlier dropping to $1.0053 for the first time since early December 2002.
The dollar continued to advance against the euro on Monday, less than a cent from parity, in a market fearing a major energy crisis in Europe, which is suffering from comparison with a still vigorous American economy.
By 7:10 p.m. GMT, the single currency was worth just $1.0061, down 1.21% after earlier falling to $1.0053 for the first time since early December 2002.
For Kit Juckes, of Societe Generale, doubts about the maintenance of Russian gas supplies to Europe are dragging the common currency of 19 European countries down.
The shutdown for maintenance of the Nord Stream 1 gas pipeline, which carries a large part of this gas, raises the possibility that Russia will choose, at the end of these operations supposed to last ten days, not to reopen the valves.
“This worst-case scenario would lead to a recession and probably an additional 10% drop in the euro,” warns Kit Juckes.
And even the restoration of exports by Nord Stream 1, which Russia had already reduced to 40% of usual volumes, “would maintain market jitters and the euro would only be capable of a small technical rebound.”
“The dollar clearly has the advantage over just about everything right now,” commented Brad Bechtel of Jefferies, pointing out that the “greenback” was also doing damage against other currencies.
On Monday, the “buck”, one of its many other nicknames, soared to a 23-year high against the yen and also hit two-year highs against the Australian and New Zealand dollars.
The parity “has become a target” for traders, according to Brad Bechtel, driven by the accumulation of speculative positions. However, the euro has resisted this threshold several times since the end of last week, “because many will take their profits” once the parity is crossed.
“I will not be surprised if we rebound towards 1.05 (dollar) before finally reaching parity,” says the analyst.
Currency traders will follow the CPI price index this week, which should give the temperature of inflation in the United States in June on Wednesday. For Brad Bechtel, a higher than expected indicator (8.8% over one year) would be likely to push the dollar above the euro.
The US currency also paraded against the pound sterling, which fell to its lowest level since the end of March 2020, affected by political uncertainty in the United Kingdom and the prospect of poor macroeconomic figures on Wednesday, according to Joe Manimbo of Western Union. .