Dollar firmer, euro weakens as French protests turn violent

The dollar rose from near its lowest levels of the month at the start of trading in Asia on Monday, as violent protests in France put pressure on the euro.

The euro was 0.1% down at $1.1225 at the start of Asian trading. The dollar index was most heavily weighted toward the common currency and its decline helped calm the greenback, which was trading flat at 101.83.

French President Emmanuel Macron criticised “shocking” displays of violence on the fringes of protests over the cost of living in a televised speech to the country on Sunday, a day after France had one of its worst days of unrest in years.‘The weekend disturbance does matter for the euro mostly through French bonds rather than directly,’ Kieran Williams, head of Asia FX at InTouch Capital Markets in London, said.
Bank ​of Japan Governor Kazuo Ueda said on Monday underlying inflation is “quite close” to the central bank’s 2% objective, with the US dollar unchanged at 158.00 yen on the yen.

The U.S. dollar was unchanged at 6.6842 yuan in offshore trade ahead of the announcement of Chinese third-quarter GDP statistics. China’s economy likely improved marginally in the time from a more-than three-year low.

A lot of attention in emerging market Asia will be on the Indonesian rupiah, after a ‎threat from ⁠MSCI to downgrade the nation’s stock market to “standalone” status last week sent shares into an 11.6% plunge. The rupiah closed at 18,000 versus the dollar on Friday, its lowest in nearly three months.

The Australian dollar was 0.3% higher at $0.6965 and the kiwi was steady at $0.5656. The British pound stayed steady at $1.3329.

Oil prices fell when Asian trade began on Monday, with Brent oil futures down 1.7% at $108.02, after US President Donald Trump waived sanctions and tariffs on Russia that may lead to additional Russian fuel shipments.