The euro fell in the European market on Friday against a basket of global currencies, deepening losses for the second consecutive day against the U.S. dollar, hitting a three-week low, ahead of inflation data in Europe in December, which is expected to reduce pressure on monetary policymakers at the European Central Bank.
The greenback climbed to a one-month high, ahead of the release of new U.S. jobs data in December, which could boost the odds that the Federal Reserve will raise interest rates at a 50 basis point pace early next month.
Euro exchange rate today
The EURUSD fell 0.15% to the lowest since Dec. 12, from the opening price of $1.0523, and hit today's low of $1.0536.
The euro ended yesterday's trading down 0.8% against the dollar, in the third loss in the last four days, due to strong economic data in the United States, which boosted the prospects that the Federal Reserve will continue to raise interest rates at a pace of 50 basis points.
European Inflation Data
By 10:00 GMT, headline inflation data in Europe is released, with expectations pointing to a rise of 9.6% in December, from a 10.1% rise in November.
If inflation falls for the second consecutive month, moving away from the record 10.6% recorded in October, pressure on ECB policymakers will diminish, and the prospects of a 50 basis point European interest rate hike at the February 2 meeting will ease.
US Dollar
The dollar index rose on Friday by about 0.2%, extending its gains for the second consecutive session, hitting a one-month high of 105.35 points, reflecting the continued rise of the US currency against a basket of major and minor currencies.
Data on Thursday in the United States showed a rise that exceeded expectations in new jobs that the US private sector managed to add in December, with jobless claims during the last week of last year falling to the lowest level in nearly three months.
That data raised the pricing of futures contracts for the possibilities of increasing US interest rates by 50 basis points on the first of next February from 30% to 40%, and for more pricing, traders are waiting later today, the release of new monthly jobs data in the United States during December.
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