The euro strengthens again, while the ruble continues its free fall. The turbulence caused on the equity markets by China's slowdown and the continued decline in oil prices are also being felt on the currency markets, which start the week in the name of volatility.
The euro travels to the highest of the last seven months against the dollar: 1.1488 in mid-morning, against the exchange rate of 1,1281 recorded last Friday by the ECB. The single currency benefits from the increased risk aversion, still linked to the unexpected devaluation of the yuan.
The dollar was unable to take advantage of this situation, because the latest indications from the Fed caused expectations of a credit crunch in the USA to be postponed until December.
As for the ruble, slipped this morning to its lowest level since the beginning of the year, weighed down by the massive losses suffered by the Moscow Stock Exchange (-4,2% for the RTS dollar index) and by the heavy climate that characterizes the entire emerging currency market.
The Russian currency thus exceeded the important psychological threshold of 80 per euro, to lean at 80,99 compared to the 78,80 recorded at the end of Friday.
The dollar also appreciated against the ruble, trading at 70,69 this morning, against 68,21 at the end of last week.
