By Brigid Riley and Amanda Cooper
TOKYO/LONDON, June 17 (Reuters) – The dollar was stable on Monday, while the euro was trading around more than a month lows, as political turmoil in Europe increased the level of uncertainty among traders, while Investors were waiting for more data to gauge the strength of the US economy.
* Investors have been eyeing the risk of a budget crisis in the heart of the euro zone, as far-right and left-wing parties gain momentum ahead of France’s snap parliamentary elections, putting pressure on President Emmanuel Macron’s centrist government.
* Even after French financial markets suffered a brutal sell-off late last week, European Central Bank policymakers have no plans to discuss emergency purchases of French bonds, five sources told Reuters.
* The euro was stable at $1.0713, after falling on Friday to its lowest level since May 1, at $1.06678. In addition, last week it recorded its largest weekly drop since April, 0.88%.
* The dollar index, which measures the U.S. currency against a basket of six other currencies, was unchanged at 105.54, near its highest level since May 2, driven mainly by the euro’s weakness.
* Minneapolis Federal Reserve President Neel Kashkari said on Sunday it was a “reasonable prediction” that the US central bank would cut interest rates once this year and wait until December to do so.
The Fed released updated projections last week showing that the median forecast among 19 U.S. central bankers was for a single interest rate cut this year.
* Sterling fell 0.1% to $1.2671. British inflation pressures remain too strong for the Bank of England to cut rates at its June 20 meeting, and most economists polled by Reuters expect the first cut will not come until August 1.
* Meanwhile, the yen held near its 34-year low against the dollar after the Bank of Japan on Friday postponed tapering bond purchases and details of its tapering plan to its monetary policy meeting. of July.
* The yen weakened slightly and was trading at 157.765 units per dollar, after falling to 158.26 after Friday’s decision, its lowest since April 29.
* Among cryptocurrencies, bitcoin fell 1% to $65,794, while ether fell 2% to $3,524, according to LSEG data.
(Reporting by Brigid Riley; Editing in Spanish by Ricardo Figueroa)
