FX.co ★ Euro Holds Steady as Oil Surges Ahead of ECB Decision

The euro hovered around $1.145, just below the one-month high hit on June 15, as investors assessed escalating tensions in the Middle East and a sharp increase in oil prices. Brent crude rose back above $90 a barrel—its highest level in more than a month—after logging its strongest weekly gain since April, following a series of retaliatory strikes exchanged between the US and Iran after the deaths of US military personnel. Attention is now focused on Thursday’s European Central Bank policy meeting. Having raised interest rates in June for the first time in three years, policymakers are widely expected to keep rates on hold and adopt a wait-and-see stance. Even so, markets continue to price in two additional ECB rate hikes by year-end, with the first potentially arriving as early as September.