At around 9:00 p.m. the euro gained 0.78% to 1.1092 dollars, rising for the third session in a row.
–
The euro rose against the dollar on Thursday, continuing its momentum thanks in particular to the exceptional plan announced by the European Union to revive the economies of the euro zone.
Around 7:00 p.m. GMT (9:00 p.m. in Paris), the euro gained 0.78% to 1.1092 dollars, rising for the third session in a row.
“The strength of the single currency results from the European Commission’s plan to support the economies of its members who have been hit by the coronavirus, with a total of 750 billion euros in the form of grants and loans,” says Ricardo Evangelista, analyst for ActivTrades.
As the threshold of 352,000 deaths worldwide (more than three-quarters in Europe and the United States) was crossed Wednesday, the president of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen called on the 27 to “put aside old prejudices To support this exceptional aid plan.
Fueled by large-scale borrowing on behalf of the EU, it will be redistributed for two-thirds in grants and one-third in the form of loans.
According to Evangelista, “this could be a moment of historic significance, marking the first step towards a form of pan-European pooled debt.”
The dollar, traditionally considered a safe haven, also suffered from a slight renewed risk appetite on the part of investors with the publication on Thursday of American indicators reflecting the severe impact of the pandemic on the economy but less bad than expected.
Weekly figures on unemployment benefit claims, for example, showed that just over 2.12 million people were again unemployed for the first time in the past week.
But the total number of unemployed workers receiving unemployment benefits in the United States also fell for the first time since the start of the crisis during the week of May 10-16.
Another topic of interest for traders, the yuan, which rallied a little after falling Wednesday to a low since September against the dollar, at 7.1777 yuan for a dollar, while the tone still rises between the United States and China.
“There is increasing speculation that the renminbi may experience another period of depreciation, which is already shaking up other Asian currencies,” said Lee Hardman, analyst for MUFG.
The United States formally concluded on Wednesday that Hong Kong no longer enjoys the autonomy promised by China, paving the way for possible trade reprisals, which constitute the first spectacular response to a controversial security law wanted by Beijing.
Concretely, Donald Trump’s administration can now end the preferential trade status granted to the former British colony because of its autonomy.
The US threat was described as “barbaric” on Thursday by the Chinese Foreign Ministry’s representation in Hong Kong.
–
