The euro rose against the dollar on Tuesday, going back just above parity after disappointing American indicators, even if the dangers that are piling up on Europe are causing traders to fear a short-lived respite for the single currency.
Around 3:30 p.m. GMT (5:30 p.m. in Paris), the euro was up 0.52% at $1.0006, after falling earlier in the day to $0.9901, a eurolevel not seen since December 2002 and the year of its circulation.
The gains of the euro limited by the difficulties of the European economy
New home sales plunged again in July in the United States, while private sector activity contracted, with a composite flash PMI index at 45 points, its lowest level since May 2020
. of a collapse of the economy were concentrated on Europe
", recalls Joshua Mahony, analyst at IG, but the data of the day "
highlight the difficulties of American companies
".
Enough to force the dollar to correct sharply: the Dollar index, which compares the greenback to a basket of other major currencies, lost 0.83% to 108.13 points.
The euro's gains were limited by the difficulties weighing on the European economy: the PMI of the eurozone fell in August to 49.2, a low in 18 months, also marking a contraction in activity .
“
These data confirm our scenario of a necessary tightening of European Central Bank policy even as the economy falls into recession
,” warns Jack Allen-Reynolds, analyst at Capital Economics.
The pound was doing a little better (+0.74% to 1.1855 dollars) as the British PMI remained above 50 points in August, but the currency is not far from its lowest since the beginning of 2020 reached at the beginning session at 1.1718 dollars.
Stopping Russian gas deliveries
The euro and the pound plunged for several sessions after the announcement of a halt in Russian gas deliveries via the Nord Stream 1 gas pipeline between August 31 and September 2.
“
Faced with the risk of a shortage hanging over
Europe this winter
, we note a certain sensitivity of prices to the slightest bad news.
Yesterday is a very good example, and we can question the rationality of these unprecedented movements
, ”wonders Guillaume Dejean, analyst at Western Union.
The question now is how far the tumble of the euro can take him.
“
The strength of the dollar depends in part on the idea that the Federal Reserve (Fed) will issue a message on tight monetary policy during Jackson Hole
“, where the central bankers will meet at the end of the week, recalls Lee Hardman, analyst at MUFG.