The euro continues to decline – Al-Ittihad newspaper

LONDON (Archyde.com) – The euro extended its decline on Tuesday, with the Swiss franc and the Swedish krona the biggest winners, after concerns about French elections and the prospect 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 briefly 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. The euro’s biggest losses were against the Swedish crown and the Swiss franc on Tuesday, as it fell by 0.4 percent and 0.2 percent, respectively. The United States and European countries vowed on Monday to punish Moscow for the killings of civilians in northern Ukraine. The Kremlin denied the accusations of killing civilians. The new sanctions may include restrictions on the energy that Europe imports from Russia with billions of dollars. The Australian dollar jumped to a nine-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 highest level in one week at 99.083, which it 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.