Investor bets that the euro will fall in value have reached their highest level since the pandemic hit Europe more than two years ago as the risk grows that record energy prices will drag the region into recession.
Rising wagers against the euro also reflect bullishness on the US dollar, which has been boosted by signals from the US Federal Reserve — reinforced by its chair Jay Powell on Friday — that it will keep raising interest rates to tackle soaring inflation even in a slowdown.
As well as the threat of recession, Europe is also grappling with steeply rising prices. At the annual gathering of central bankers in Jackson Hole this weekend, European Central Bank executive board member Isabel Schnabel and François Villeroy de Galhau, the French central bank governor, warned that monetary policy would have to stay tight for an extended period in Europe.