Euro ticks up despite French govt collapse; bitcoin breaks $100,000
The euro picked up on Thursday despite the collapse of the French government, which had been widely expected, while bitcoin galloped past $100,000 for the first time and the yen rallied as traders looked to the Bank of Japan decision on Dec. 19.
Bitcoin, the world's best known cryptocurrency, has been on a tear since November on expectations that Donald Trump's U.S. election win will usher in a friendly regulatory environment for cryptocurrencies.
The euro was up 0.16% at $1.0525, not far from the two-year low of $1.0332 hit at the end of November as traders braced for a drawn-out reckoning for France.
In Asia, the Japanese yen strengthened over 0.3% to 150.80 per dollar as traders assessed whether the Bank of Japan will hike interest rates later this month.
The dollar index , which measures the U.S. currency against six rivals, was slightly lower at 106.18.
Sterling ticked up 0.15% to $1.2721, while the Australian dollar was flat at $0.6431 after dropping about 0.9% in the previous session on weak data.
Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said on Wednesday the U.S. economy is stronger now than the central bank had expected when it started cutting rates in September, and he appeared to signal his support for a slower pace of reductions ahead.
Source: Reuters
