The European currency watchfully trades on Monday following investor’s concerns regarding Catalonia’s conflict with Madrid and election in Austria. The U.S. dollar got lost on lost on track following the weaker than expected inflation figures in the country.
Catalan leader Carles Puigdemont given until 10:00 a.m. this day to shed some light if he would call independence in the region is the center of attention as of now. The one who gave him the deadline was Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy, which also said Puigdemont has until Thursday to change his mind if ever he doesn’t prefer a split. Rajoy added that the autonomy of Catalonia would be suspended by Madrid if he picks independence.
In reaction to the news, the euro dropped as low as 0.25 percent on Monday’s opening bell and was last seen 0.2 percent lower ar $1.1806. This dragged the common currency away from a 2/12-week high it notched last Thursday of $1.1880. However, the declines of the euro were somehow limited after the forecast of investors that the European Central Bank (ECB) will reveal an outline of beginning to unwind its immense balance sheet anytime this October.
Sebastian Kurz, young conservative star in Austria is currently on track to become the next leader of the nation the moment the election concludes this Sunday. There are possibilities that Kurz will attempt a coalition with the far-right as his own party.
In other currency news, the U.S. dollar index was nearly unchanged at 93.16 due to soft U.S. consumer prices for the month of September.