Sterling hits 16-month high vs euro as French fiscal concerns grow
Sterling reached a 16-month peak against the euro on Wednesday, driven by France's fiscal worries that pressured the single currency. The euro fell 0.27% to 84.49 pence, its lowest since June 2025, and also slumped 0.6% against the dollar to 1.1199.
Oct 7 (Reuters) — Sterling scaled a 16-month high against the euro on Wednesday as France's fiscal concerns continued to weigh on the single currency, although the pound weakened against a broadly stronger dollar. 49 pence, its lowest level since June 2025, extending its losing streak to a ninth straight session. 1199, weighed down by worries about France's fiscal position ahead of the 2027 presidential election. Euro zone bond-market turmoil has also dampened expectations for further rate hikes from the European Central Bank, even as traders bet that the Bank of England will belatedly resume tightening policy to catch up with other central banks.
3239 against a broadly firmer dollar as rising oil prices supported the greenback. 44%. After the UK's long-term borrowing costs reached their highest level since the 1990s last week, the focus remains firmly on finance minister John Healey's first budget on October 28. "It's going to be a budget which leans towards fiscal tightening and ultimately impacts growth," said Dominic Bunning, head of G10 FX strategy at Nomura.
If it includes tax increases, such as a rise in capital gains tax, investment could suffer and that could weigh more on sterling's cyclical outlook than its structural one, he said. com )