Get 40% Off
🤯 This Tech Portfolio is up 29% YTD! Join Now to Get April’s Top PicksGet The Picks – Just 99 USD

Forex - Dollar Gains as EUR/USD Falls on German Election Uncertainty

Published 2017-09-25, 01:19 p/m
Updated 2017-09-25, 02:08 p/m

Investing.com – The dollar rose sharply against a basket of major currencies on Monday, benefitting from a slump in the euro in the wake of elections in Germany which saw support for German chancellor Angela Merkel’s Conservative Alliance slump to its lowest since 1949.

EUR/USD started the week on the back foot, falling 0.95% to $1.1843, as Merkel’s Christian Democratic Union had their worst election showing since 1949, ceding ground to the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party.

The somewhat pyrrhic victory complicates Merkel’s efforts to stitch together a complicated three-way coalition that can withstand pressure from the anti-immigration AfD party, which garnered about 13% of the vote, becoming the first far-right party to win seats in parliament in more than 50 years.

The dollar capitalized on the euro slump, hitting a two-week high but renewed geopolitical uncertainty on the Korean Peninsula limited gains as demand grew for safe haven currencies like the yen and Swiss franc.

The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, rose by 0.57% to 92.47.

North Korean Foreign minister Ri Yong Ho, described President Donald Trump’s recent tweets about the country as “clearly a declaration of war,” warning that Pyongyang has the right to shoot down U.S. bombers.

"The whole world should clearly remember it was the US who first declared war on our country." North Korea Foreign Minister Ri Yong said.

"Since the United States declared war on our country, we will have every right to make countermeasures, including the right to shoot down United States strategic bombers even when they are not inside the airspace border of our country," Ri said.

USD/JPY fell 0.36% to Y111.59 while USD/CHF lost 0.25% to 0.9669.

Sterling pared recent gains against the greenback dropping 0.42% to $1.3453, as the fourth round of brexit negotiations between UK Brexit Secretary David Davis and EU negotiator Michel Barnier got underway on Monday.

USD/CAD tacked on 0.14% to C$1.2356 while AUD/USD fell 0.15% to $0.7942.

Latest comments

Risk Disclosure: Trading in financial instruments and/or cryptocurrencies involves high risks including the risk of losing some, or all, of your investment amount, and may not be suitable for all investors. Prices of cryptocurrencies are extremely volatile and may be affected by external factors such as financial, regulatory or political events. Trading on margin increases the financial risks.
Before deciding to trade in financial instrument or cryptocurrencies you should be fully informed of the risks and costs associated with trading the financial markets, carefully consider your investment objectives, level of experience, and risk appetite, and seek professional advice where needed.
Fusion Media would like to remind you that the data contained in this website is not necessarily real-time nor accurate. The data and prices on the website are not necessarily provided by any market or exchange, but may be provided by market makers, and so prices may not be accurate and may differ from the actual price at any given market, meaning prices are indicative and not appropriate for trading purposes. Fusion Media and any provider of the data contained in this website will not accept liability for any loss or damage as a result of your trading, or your reliance on the information contained within this website.
It is prohibited to use, store, reproduce, display, modify, transmit or distribute the data contained in this website without the explicit prior written permission of Fusion Media and/or the data provider. All intellectual property rights are reserved by the providers and/or the exchange providing the data contained in this website.
Fusion Media may be compensated by the advertisers that appear on the website, based on your interaction with the advertisements or advertisers.
© 2007-2024 - Fusion Media Limited. All Rights Reserved.