Statements by Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on the Ukraine conflict weighed on the euro on Wednesday. The common currency gave back the gains it had previously achieved and was down 0.5 percent at $ 1.0176 in the evening. According to Lavrov, the geographical objectives of what Russia calls the special military operation in Ukraine are no longer limited to the Donbass.
Stockbrokers are also eagerly awaiting the interest rate decision by the European Central Bank (ECB) on Thursday. According to insiders, the monetary authorities are now considering an increase of half a percentage point instead of a quarter. In an international comparison, however, such a step does not appear to be drastic, said Dominic Bunning, chief analyst for European currencies at HSBC Bank. The Swedish krona and the New Zealand dollar also struggled after the respective central banks had raised their key interest rates by half a percentage point. The ECB’s decision is made even more difficult by the government crisis in Italy. Prime Minister Mario Draghi declared his willingness to remain in office after his resignation offer was rejected, but insisted on a majority in a vote in the Italian Senate planned for the evening as a sign of confidence. Investors stocked up on Italian government bonds again and pushed the yield on ten-year titles down to 3.269 (previous day: 3.424) percent.
The situation on the gas market eased somewhat. The natural gas future fell by 0.5 percent to 154.01 euros per megawatt hour. It is also unclear whether and to what extent gas deliveries from Russia will resume on Thursday after the completion of the regular technical inspections on the Nord Stream 1 Baltic Sea pipeline.