Euro Hits 17-Month Low Amid France’s Financial Turmoil

The euro dropped to a 17-month low against the dollar on Monday, reaching $1.1161 during Asian trading. This decline marked the lowest level for the euro since May 2025, following four straight weeks of losses. The drop was primarily driven by financial concerns in France, including a sharp collapse in the bond market and rising fears of a political deadlock ahead of next year’s elections.

The euro’s weakness also reflected broader apprehensions that France’s financial instability could spread across the eurozone, reminiscent of the debt crisis over a decade ago. This has raised speculation that the European Central Bank may need to intervene to support French debt. However, some analysts caution that it is still premature to assess the extent of contagion risk.

Despite weak U.S. employment data, the dollar strengthened due to the euro’s decline. The single currency was down 0.68% at $1.1176, weakened 0.5% against the Swiss franc, and fell 0.39% against the pound sterling. Ninghui Liu, head of investment strategy and research for the Asia-Pacific region at State Street Investment Management, noted that France’s fiscal position is becoming increasingly unstable, though he described the situation as more of a national issue rather than a broader euro crisis.

The National Bank of Ukraine set the dollar exchange rate at UAH 44.9857 and the euro at UAH 50.5333 for October 5.