The U.S dollar, on Friday, February 24, hit a one-week low and was set for its first week of falls in three, as worries over France’s presidential election eased.
The dollar fell as much as 0.4 percent against a basket of other major currencies on Friday to 100.68 .DXY.
It had already been knocked earlier in the week by minutes from the U.S. Federal Reserve’s latest policy meeting that were less hawkish than some investors had expected.
The euro, meanwhile, was set for its first week of gains in three, having been lifted by a new alliance between French presidential candidate Emmanuel Macron and fellow centrist Francois Bayrou. That soothed fears that anti-EU, far-right leader Marine Le Pen could win May’s election.
A poll on Friday suggested Macron would win 23 percent of the vote share in a first round of voting on April 23, behind Le Pen’s 26 percent, but would then win in the final run-off, with a 61 percent share.
The euro rose after the poll, hitting a four-day high of $1.0618 EUR=, well clear of a two-month low below $1.05 hit earlier in the week.
With little else in the way of new developments, analysts said investors were still focused on comments on Thursday from U.S. finance chief Steven Mnuchin, who said any steps the new administration takes on policy would probably have only a limited impact this year, and that he wants to see tax reform passed by August.
