By Kevin Buckland

TOKYO (Reuters) – The dollar languished on Tuesday after being beaten back from a two-decade high versus major peers by a reinvigorated euro.

The tables turned for the two currencies as traders began ramping up bets for a super-sized 75 basis-point rate hike by the European Central Bank, while paring the odds for one by the U.S. Federal Reserve.

The dollar index – which measures the greenback against a basket of six currencies, with the euro the most heavily weighted – stood at 108.65 at the start of the Asian day, after dropping back from 109.48 overnight, a level not seen since September 2002.

The euro edged 0.08% higher to $1.00045, extending Monday’s 0.32% rally – which was its biggest in almost three weeks – after failing to keep its head above parity for the past week.

“The euro has found some stability near parity with help from reports that a 75bp hike could be on the cards at the September ECB meeting,” said Sean Callow, a currency strategist at Westpac in Sydney.

“But the euro’s yields remain unappetising and the deepening gas crisis in Europe means that more aggressive ECB hikes would only deepen recession. We expect EUR/USD to print fresh 20-year lows in coming days, with 0.98 the next obvious target.”

Traders see better than 50% odds for a 75 bps move by the ECB on Sept. 8 after a parade of ECB speakers at the Fed’s annual symposium in Jackson Hole backed the case for a big hike.

By comparison, bets for a 75 bps increase by the Fed on Sept. 21, while higher at 70%, have receded from as much as 75% on Monday.

Monthly U.S. jobs figures due on Friday will be closely watched for further clues on the rates outlook.

The euro was also helped by a retreat in European gas prices after German economy minister Robert Habbeck said the country was filling gas storage facilities faster than expected.

The dollar slid 0.17% to 138.505 yen, after rising to 139 overnight for the first time since mid-July.

Sterling added 0.1% to $1.17175, recovering from an almost 2-1/2-year low of $1.16495 reached on Monday.

The Aussie edged 0.04% higher to $0.69125, bouncing from $0.6481 in the previous session, a six-week low.

(Reporting by Kevin Buckland; Editing by Jacqueline Wong)

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

Dear Reader,

Business Standard has always strived hard to provide up-to-date information and commentary on developments that are of interest to you and have wider political and economic implications for the country and the world. Your encouragement and constant feedback on how to improve our offering have only made our resolve and commitment to these ideals stronger. Even during these difficult times arising out of Covid-19, we continue to remain committed to keeping you informed and updated with credible news, authoritative views and incisive commentary on topical issues of relevance.

We, however, have a request.

As we battle the economic impact of the pandemic, we need your support even more, so that we can continue to offer you more quality content. Our subscription model has seen an encouraging response from many of you, who have subscribed to our online content. More subscription to our online content can only help us achieve the goals of offering you even better and more relevant content. We believe in free, fair and credible journalism. Your support through more subscriptions can help us practise the journalism to which we are committed.

Support quality journalism and subscribe to Business Standard.

Digital Editor