Euro gains, dollar eases

On Monday, the euro rose while the dollar fell as investors shifted capital away from safe havens following an agreement between U.S. President Joe Biden and Russian President Vladimir Putin to discuss the Ukraine crisis.

After losing ground in early trade, the euro rose 0.5 percent to $1.1376, while the dollar index fell 0.4 percent against major currencies.

The price movement reflects a combination of relief that Russia did not invade Ukraine over the weekend and the announcement that Presidents Biden and Putin have agreed to a diplomatic summit proposed by France. Most financial asset classes were hopeful that the crisis was de-escalating, and European stock markets opened in positive territory.

The Australian dollar’s risk-taking rose 0.6 percent to $0.7218, while sterling rose 0.24 percent to $1.3630.

The Swiss franc fell 0.2 percent against the euro, while the Japanese yen lost most of its early gains, trading at 114.93 per dollar.

The market is likely to continue chasing headlines without clarity on the outcome.

Currency market participants also watch central bank policy for clues on the timing and magnitude of interest rate hikes in significant markets.

Investors will be watching remarks from U.S. Federal Reserve policymakers this week for any indication that an expected rate hike at the Fed’s March meeting could be 50 basis points rather than the current consensus of 25 basis points.

Bitcoin BTC=BTS recovered somewhat from bruising over the weekend. The largest cryptocurrency in the world was up 2.3 percent and trading above $39,000. It fell to a two-week low of $38,210 early Monday.

In Germany, producer prices rose 2.2 percent month on month in January and 25 percent year on year. German manufacturing PMI numbers for February are due later in the session. They will examine how this critical sector, a primary regional driver of growth, deals with the Omicron situation and the associated supply-side difficulties.