The euro was at a six-month low on Tuesday against a dollar boosted by an OECD report as speculation of future rate cuts in Europe amid fears of recession briefly sent the single currency below 1.45 dollar. Around 9:00 a.m. GMT (11:00 a.m. in Paris), the euro traded at 1.4502 dollars against 1.4606 dollars on Monday around 4:00 p.m. GMT.
The single European currency fell back against the yen at 157.45 yen against 157.99 yen on Monday evening.
The dollar advanced against the Japanese currency to 108.53 yen against 108.18 yen.
For the first time since February 11, the euro fell below 1.45 dollars on Tuesday shortly after 08:00 GMT, to 1.4484 dollars, due in particular to expectations of an interest rate cut from the European Central Bank (ECB). ) to combat the economic downturn.
The single currency thus returns to a level it had left for more than six months, the beginning of its escalation against the dollar which had peaked in April and July, above 1.60 dollar for one euro, before taking the opposite path due to fears about a possible entry into recession in the euro zone.
Since its last record, on July 15, at 1.6038 dollars for one euro, the currency has lost 9.6% of its value.
“The bullish rhetoric from members of the ECB last week had no long-term effect on exchange rates,” commented analysts at Commerzbank.
Recent statements from ECB officials had suggested that inflation remained a concern for the central bank and that a rate cut was not yet on the cards.
But they did not convince the markets, which are increasingly speculating on the inevitability of monetary easing, intended to revitalize the economy, while they are, on the contrary, expecting a rise in rates in the United States in the coming months.
The ECB meets on Thursday to deliver its monetary policy judgement. In the immediate future, the markets are anticipating a maintenance of the euro rent at 4.25%.
The European currency also suffered from the knowledge by the markets of a report by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) according to which Europe is now closer to recession than the United States.
The OECD raised its US growth forecasts for this year but lowered those of the euro zone and especially those of Great Britain.
The British pound crumbled further on Tuesday morning, hitting a new record low against the euro, at 1.2248 euros for one pound, and a new low against the greenback, at 1.7847 dollars for one pound, level higher in April 2006.
The Australian dollar fell to a 12-month low on Tuesday against the US dollar, at 83.99 US cents.
The pound sterling fell against the dollar at 1.7869 dollars for one pound, and against the European currency, at 81.21 pence for one euro.
The Swiss currency fell against the euro, at 1.6107 Swiss francs for one euro, as against the American currency, at 1.1102 Swiss francs for one dollar.
An ounce of gold was at 804.85 dollars against 822.25 dollars the day before at the evening auction.
