The euro’s decline accelerated, on Friday, as the price of the European currency fell below the $1.01 threshold for the first time since the end of 2002, affected by fears affecting the continent’s economy.
And at 8:00 GMT, the euro lost 0.55% to reach its price of 1,0106 dollars, after falling to 1,0072, close to parity with the US currency.
“Natural gas will keep the euro off par regardless of the ECB’s reaction,” said Derek Halpini, an analyst at Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Holdings.
Gas prices in Europe reached their peak Thursday since March and since the Russian war on Ukraine, driven by the disruption of Russian exports.
The possibility of a gas shortage in the eurozone has pushed investors away from the single currency.
In the face of a shock that could affect economic activity, the European Central Bank is currently reluctant to raise interest rates too quickly, despite inflation.
Matthew Ryan, an analyst at Ibery, said that “the more divergent borrowing rates are in the eurozone,” the more cautious this will prompt the monetary institution.
“The euro risks continuing to approach parity as long as the European Central Bank does not resort to a shock measure such as a 0.50 percentage point increase” at its next meeting, said Ipek Ozkardiskaya, an analyst at Swissquote.
AFP