Euro to Close June By Almost 3% “In the Red” as Risk Flight Worsened

The euro (EUR) continued on a bearish trajectory Thursday after losing form against the dollar on Tuesday. The USD enjoyed support from growing safe-haven demand as inflation and global recession worries increased.

The single currency currently trades at 1.0410, down by 0.26% in the US session, giving it a 48-hour decline of -1%. With that, EUR/USD looks set to close the month down by 2.9% and the quarter by 5.7%.

The EUR also refreshed a seven-and-half-year low of 0.9950 against the Swiss franc in the North American session on Thursday, as the CHF also benefited from a surge in safe-haven demand and continued to bask in the aftereffect of a surprise rate hike by the Swiss National Bank.

Inflation Fears Stoking Massive Outflow for Euro

Commenting on the euro’s weakness, senior FX strategist at Maybank, Christopher Wong, blamed the single currency’s decline against the dollar on the market migrating from riskier assets after “central bankers warned of lasting inflation and that they would prioritize combating [it], resulting in broad dollar rebound overnight.” The financial markets have come under intense pressure in recent months due to recession fears, as central banks switch to more aggressive and tighter policies to tame inflation.

During his speech at the European Central Bank (ECB)’s annual conference in Sintra, Portugal, US Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell explained that bringing inflation under control was paramount regardless of the economic injury it might inflict. A stance shared by ECB President Christine Lagarde.

In other news, Ray Attrill, the head of FX strategy at the National Australian Bank (NAB) explained that lower German inflation figures briefly exerted pressure on the euro, before “the market realized that there [were] some special factors there, it wasn’t a genuine downside surprise.” He added: “The bigger picture worry is what happens with energy supplies in the eurozone as we head towards the winter… We’re quite cautious about the euro.”