Euro hits fresh two-decade low vs dollar on concerns over energy prices

Wednesday,   06-Jul-2022   03:50 PM (IST)

The euro edged to a fresh two-decade low against the dollar on Wednesday as fears over rising energy prices and potential shortages cast a long shadow over the bloc's economy despite some reassuring headlines about gas supplies. All oil and gas fields that were affected by a strike in Norway's petroleum sector are expected to be back in full operation within a couple of days, Equinor said on Wednesday. Meanwhile, Goldman Sachs raised its natural gas price forecasts, saying that a complete restoration of Russian gas flows through Nordstream1 was no longer the most likely scenario. Analysts expect a quick resurgence in oil prices as supply tightness persists and as front-month spreads have held up despite Tuesday's price fall. Euro zone consumers cut spending on food, drinks and tobacco for the second straight month in May amid a spike in prices, according to estimates from the European Union statistics office Eurostat released on Wednesday. The divergence between central banks' tightening cycles across the Atlantic remained in investors' focus. They reckon the forex market will consolidate the current levels on Wednesday ahead of Federal Open Market Committee minutes from its June meeting, due at 1800 GMT. The euro dropped to its lowest level against the Swiss franc since the Swiss National Bank abandoned its currency cap in 2015. The single currency was down 0.3% to a fresh 7-year low at 0.9911. Yen gained a little support from some safety bids after Japanese households' inflation expectations strengthened in the three months to June, with the ratio of homes expecting price rises over the coming year hitting the highest level in 14 years. The dollar dropped 0.3% to 135.36 yen. It hit at the end of June its highest since 1998 at 137. Bank of Japan has said it would not withdraw monetary stimulus because inflation is due to soaring fuel and raw material costs blamed on the Ukraine crisis and will likely prove temporary. Bitcoin fell about 1% and was last trading at $20,175. Ether rose 1.2% at $1,146.