New York (awp / afp) – The euro, which had closed down 0.56% at 1.0828 dollars on Thursday, plunging even in session to a lowest level seen in almost 2 years at 1.0758, slipped to new Friday in a very sparse Easter weekend market.
Around 7:00 p.m. GMT, the European currency dropped 0.17% to 1.0810 dollars for one euro against the greenback, still in the wake of comments by Christine Lagarde, President of the ECB, who did not seem in a hurry to raise the interest rate.
“The persistence of high energy costs, combined with the loss of confidence, could lower demand and curb consumption”, thus weighing down growth in the euro zone, warned Ms. Lagarde.
These uncertainties about the evolution of activity in Europe explain the caution of the guardians of the euro zone which, unlike the other major central banks such as the American Federal Reserve (Fed), have not started to hike their rates. directors. Even if inflation in the euro zone reached 7.5% over one year in March.
On Friday, exchanges were deserted while to observe the Good Friday holiday, the New York Stock Exchange and the London market are closed.
“As Forex is primarily based in London and New York, traders should be aware of the Christian Easter holiday season,” said specialist site DailyForex. “You don’t want to trade in markets with exceptionally low levels of liquidity and volatility,” the site warned.
The dollar was in good shape, after senior Fed member John Williams said on Thursday that a half-percentage-point rate hike was “a reasonable option.”
The Dollar Index, which compares the greenback to other major currencies, reached 100.50 points (+0.18%), a two-year high (May 2020).
The yen (-0.42% to 126.41 yen to the dollar) continued to fall while the Bank of Japan remains for the moment on its very flexible monetary policy, hoping that the low level of its currency will favor the Japanese exports.
On Tuesday, the yen hit a two-decade low of 126.32 yen.
Cours de vendredi Cours de jeudi
18H40 GMT 21H00 GMT
EUR/USD 1,0810 1,0828
EUR/JPY 136,65 136,29
EUR/CHF 1,0191 1,0202
EUR/GBP 0,8272 0,8281
USD/JPY 126,41 125,88
USD/CHF 0,9430 0,9423
GBP/USD 1,3067 1,3071
afp/rp