The euro recovered on Wednesday from its losses the day before. Statements on monetary policy by members of the European Central Bank (ECB) supported the common currency, which rose 0.6 percent to $ 1.1328. According to council member Olli Rehn, the ECB does not need a new steering instrument if its very loose monetary policy is gradually normalized. With the pandemic emergency program PEPP and the smaller bond purchase program APP, the ECB has sufficient options, said the Finn. ECB Council member Madis Müller from Estonia recently made a similar statement. According to ECB boss Christine Lagarde, given high inflation and the new Corona variant Omikron, it is advisable not to commit to monetary policy for very long. At the same time, she expressed her confidence that the EUR 1.85 trillion PEPP program could expire in March.
On the other hand, the downward trend was for the pound sterling, which temporarily fell to a twelve-month low of $ 1.3168. According to media reports, the British government could fall back on “Plan B” on Thursday and announce new restrictions to contain the pandemic. Bitcoin also posted losses. The rate of the cyber currency fell at times by just under four percent to $ 48,656. Investors would get cold feet before a hearing of company bosses from the crypto industry before the US Congress, said analyst Timo Emden from Emden Research. They feared an approaching tightening of the regulation.
On the other hand, easing Omikron worries on the commodities market gave the oil price a further boost. The price of a barrel of US WTI light oil rose by one percent to $ 72.79. “So far there has not been any significant slowdown in oil demand,” said Commerzbank analyst Carsten Fritsch.