- Rouble down against dollar
- Dollar index jumps
(Updates to late afternoon U.S. trading)
The euro hit its lowest level against the U.S. dollar since June 2020 on Tuesday and the Russian rouble was down in volatile trading as Russia's invasion into Ukraine intensified and oil prices surged.
The U.S. dollar index =USD , which measures the greenback against a basket of currencies, jumped and was last up 0.6%, as investors flocked to safe-haven bets.
Investors were on edge over the latest Ukraine developments. Russia warned Kyiv residents to flee their homes, and Russian commanders shifted tactics to intensify the bombardment of Ukrainian cities.
Brent oil futures had their highest close since August 2014 amid energy shortage concerns. A global agreement to release crude reserves failed to ease worries about supply disruptions from Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
"The likelihood of a '70s-style global oil shock is growing, and investors are moving to safe havens as fast as they can," said Karl Schamotta, chief market strategist at Cambridge Global Payments in Toronto. "The euro is on the front lines here, most exposed to energy shock," with the euro falling as oil and gas prices jump, he said.
Russia's invasion of Ukraine is the biggest assault on a European state since World War Two, and has resulted in Western sanctions that include cutting off some Russian banks from the SWIFT financial network and limiting Moscow's ability to deploy its $630 billion of foreign reserves.
The euro EUR=EBS was last down 0.8% on the day at $1.1130 after falling to its lowest level since June 2020. The euro was also down 0.9% against the Japanese yen. EURJPY=
Morgan Stanley analysts said in a Tuesday note they were closing trade recommendations for long euro against the U.S. dollar, yen, pound and the Brazilian real and were "neutral on the euro overall."
"Investors who have assets in Russia that will be increasingly challenging to divest thanks to growing capital controls and sanctions may look at hedging options. Currencies that have a high correlation with RUB risk may be seen as such an option, such as currencies in the CEE area and potentially the EUR," they wrote.
"We will potentially look to re-enter these positions and re-affirm our EUR-bullish thesis in the future should conditions warrant, but, for now, we think it best to keep risk limited and preserve capital for when clearer themes emerge."
The Russian rouble weakened 1.34% versus the greenback to 110.04 per dollar, according to Refinitiv data RUBUSD=R .
The dollar was down 0.1% against the safe-haven yen JPY=EBS . Earlier, the Swiss franc hit its strongest level since 2015 against the euro EURCHF=EBS . The Swiss National Bank's sight deposits were little changed in February, suggesting the central bank may have given up its attempts to slow the franc's appreciation.
Bitcoin was up about 2.3% BTC=BTSP .
======================================================== Currency bid prices at 4:00PM (2100 GMT)Description RIC Last U.S. Close Pct Change YTD Pct High Bid Low Bid Previous Change Session Dollar index =USD 97.3320 96.7420 +0.63% 1.745% +97.5800 +96.6240 Euro/Dollar EUR=EBS $1.1130 $1.1220 -0.79% -2.09% +$1.1233 +$1.1090 Dollar/Yen JPY=EBS 114.8150 114.9700 -0.13% -0.27% +115.2850 +114.7000 Euro/Yen EURJPY= 127.78 128.98 -0.93% -1.95% +129.2400 +127.3800 Dollar/Swiss CHF=EBS 0.9182 0.9170 +0.13% +0.66% +0.9205 +0.9150 Sterling/Dollar GBP=D3 $1.3322 $1.3421 -0.72% -1.48% +$1.3437 +$1.3303 Dollar/Canadian CAD=D3 1.2742 1.2669 +0.58% +0.78% +1.2749 +1.2654 Aussie/Dollar AUD=D3 $0.7252 $0.7265 -0.17% -0.22% +$0.7290 +$0.7238 Euro/Swiss EURCHF= 1.0220 1.0283 -0.61% -1.44% +1.0297 +1.0200 Euro/Sterling EURGBP= 0.8352 0.8360 -0.10% -0.57% +0.8368 +0.8317 NZ NZD=D3 $0.6756 $0.6776 -0.29% -1.29% +$0.6790 +$0.6742 Dollar/DollarDollar/Norway NOK=D3 8.8805 8.8230 +0.87% +1.03% +8.9145 +8.7760 Euro/Norway EURNOK= 9.8877 9.8771 +0.11% -1.25% +9.9102 +9.8327 Dollar/Sweden SEK= 9.6413 9.4849 +1.13% +6.91% +9.6745 +9.4481 Euro/Sweden EURSEK= 10.7338 10.6135 +1.13% +4.88% +10.7479 +10.6016 <^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ World FX rates https://tmsnrt.rs/2RBWI5E^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^>
