Around 8:50 p.m., the Dollar index lost 0.62% to 102.98 points, after having reached 103.93 points the day before, a record for 19 years. The euro took 0.69% to 1.0571 dollars.
The euro regained some strength on Friday after briefly falling below the $1.05 threshold on Thursday, while the US currency, after its spectacular surge, fell against the other major currencies for the last session of the month.
Around 6:50 p.m. GMT, the Dollar index, which compares the greenback to a basket of other currencies, fell 0.62% to 102.98 points, after having reached 103.93 points the day before, a record for 19 years.
The euro took 0.69% to 1.0571 dollars.
The greenback, a safe haven, galvanized by the accumulation of risks for the economy (war in Ukraine and possible embargo on Russian energy, confinements in China) had multiplied records against other currencies. The Dollar Index thus took some 5% in one month.
In the eurozone, the inflation rate remained at a record level in April, at 7.5% year on year, Eurostat announced on Friday, as the war in Ukraine continues to fuel soaring oil prices. ‘energy.
In addition, core inflation, excluding food and energy, the index most watched by the European Central Bank (ECB), reached 3.9% over one year against 3.2% last month. This supported the European currency.
On the side of the dollar, investors were hesitant about the position to adopt before the meeting of the American Federal Reserve (Fed) next week, already very much taken into account by the markets. The Fed has already signaled a very likely hike in key rates of half a percentage point.
Even if the GDP contracted by 1.4% in the United States at an annual rate in the first quarter, “the Fed will probably not dwell on it and will raise its rate by half a point”, said Derek Halpenny, an analyst at MUFG.
Bitcoin for its part faltered “as Fed rate hike expectations sparked a bloodbath for tech stocks and risky assets,” said Edward Moya of Oanda. On Wall Street, the Nasdaq fell 3.52% an hour before the close.
“Bitcoin’s fundamentals are beginning to weaken as retail interest in crypto assets and institutions decline,” he explained, estimating that the cryptocurrency star could drop towards $37,500. . Bitcoin lost 3.74% to $38,399.