The euro fell today, while the Swiss franc and the Swedish krona were the biggest winners after concerns about the French elections and the possibility of further sanctions on Russia unnerved investors.
French financial markets acknowledged the possibility of right-wing candidate Marine Le Pen beating President Emmanuel Macron in this month’s elections, as it incurred heavy losses in the Paris index of blue-chip stocks and government bonds.
The single currency fell against the US dollar for a brief period to its lowest level in more than one week at $1.0956. The euro hit a one-month high of $1.1185 just days ago amid growing optimism about an end to the conflict in Ukraine.
According to (Archyde.com) the euro’s biggest losses today were against the Swedish krona and the Swiss franc, as it fell by 0.4 percent and 0.2 percent, respectively.
The United States and European countries vowed yesterday to punish Moscow.
The new sanctions may include restrictions on energy that Europe imports from Russia with billions of dollars.
The Australian dollar jumped to a 9-month high after the country’s central bank signaled an interest rate hike was imminent.
The Australian dollar rose 1.23 percent to $0.7639, its strongest level since June 14.
The dollar index fell 0.07 percent to 98.902 from its one-week high of 99.083 reached last night.
The dollar was flat against the Japanese yen at 122.73 yen, broadly following moves in long-term US Treasury yields, with continuing to consolidate around 122.5 after pulling back from a multi-year high of 125.105 on March 28.