(CNBC) The dollar crept lower against the euro on Friday as the common currency enjoyed a lift from hopes that a Brexit deal between Britain and the European Union could improve the odds of the euro zone avoiding a recession for now.
The euro has been rattled this year by dismal manufacturing data and by worries that deepening economic tensions between the United States and China could slow euro zone economies even further.
But with Britain’s Johnson and EU leaders agreeing a new deal for Britain to exit the bloc, and no recent bad news on the U.S.-China trade front, the euro was getting a boost.
“While the results of tomorrow’s vote is far from certain, we see the progress made over the past week as diminishing the chances of a no-deal Brexit,” said John Doyle, vice president for dealing and trading at Monex Inc in Washington.
“A no-deal Brexit would be devastating for the U.K. economy, but the ripple effects into the mainland would be substantial,” Doyle said. “That has helped lift equity markets, regional currencies and put downward pressure on the greenback.”
