Market News
BNP Paribas says euro could rise, not fall, if recession hits - REUTERS
In addition, Lynton-Brown said the euro and peripheral government bond spreads in the currency bloc have become less sensitive to risk-off periods, a positive for the euro.
WHY IT’S IMPORTANT
Euro/dollar is the most actively traded currency pair in the $7.5 trillion a day global currency market and the drivers behind its direction are tracked by investors globally.
KEY QUOTE
"If the U.S. were to enter a hard landing, it would make us even more bullish on euro/dollar," said Lynton-Brown.
CONTEXT
BNP Paribas Markets 360's base case is for an economic soft landing.
It forecasts euro/dollar to rally to $1.15 by end-2025, implying a gain of just over 3.5% from current levels around $1.11 .
A Reuters poll recently forecast the euro to trade around $1.12 in a year.
WHAT'S NEXT
The U.S. Federal Reserve is widely expected to lower interest rates for the first time in four years on Wednesday and could even deliver a half-point cut. Speculation over an outsized cut has already hurt the dollar and any signs the U.S. economy is slowing more quickly than anticipated - especially the labour market - could stoke recession worries.
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