HONG KONG- The euro held most of its overnight gains on Thursday, having posted its steepest daily jump in nearly six years after a meeting between Ukraine’s and Russia’s foreign ministers and easing oil prices took some of the recent panic out of markets.
Traders are waiting on a European Central Bank meeting later in the day for any signs on how Russia’s invasion of Ukraine will affect monetary policy. US inflation figures are also due, which could further guide expectations for the Federal Reserve’s meeting next week.
The euro was trading at $1.1053, down 0.2 percent after jumping 1.6 percent on Wednesday, its best day since June 2016, along with gains in European stocks and a selloff in bonds. .EU
The common currency touched a 22-month low of $1.0804 earlier in the week, weighed down by the impact of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on European growth.
Analysts at NAB attributed Wednesday’s gains to some optimism ahead of Thursday’s meeting between Russia and Ukraine’s foreign ministers – the first since Russia invaded Ukraine two weeks ago – and reports that the European Union was discussing bond issuance to finance energy and defense spending.
Ukraine’s foreign minister warned however, that his expectations of the talks are low.
Russia calls its actions in Ukraine a “special operation”.
Elsewhere, sterling was steady at $1.3172 after jumping 0.65 percent overnight along with the euro, while the safe-haven yen was at 116.12 per dollar, its lowest in a month, hurt by a rise in sentiment towards riskier assets like equities. – Reuters
