Euro Rallies as ECB Policymakers Calm Concerns

The euro rose slightly as traders indicated the calm approach of policymakers in the European Central Bank regarding the recent rise of the euro, while the Norwegian krone rose on official expectations that the current economic contraction will be less than expected.

After a press conference on Thursday in which European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde said that the bank is not targeting the exchange rate, sources said that policymakers have agreed to monitor the euro’s rise, considering that it is in line with a general deal with the fundamentals of the economy.

An index that tracks the performance of the greenback against a basket of six major currencies showed that the dollar is poised for a second week of gains. The dollar rose overnight as turmoil in US stock markets caused investors to stick to safe havens.

The euro rose in recent trading 0.2% to $ 1.1841, but it reached $ 1.1917 the previous day, its highest level in eight days.

The dollar index settled at 93.22, while the dollar hung against the Japanese currency at 106.19.

The Norwegian krone rose 0.8% to 9.0215 against the US dollar after the Norwegian Bureau of Statistics said it now expects the economy to contract 3.2% this year, less than the 3.9% drop it expected in June.

Against the euro, the krone rose 0.4% to 10.6795, although those moves were not enough to dispel the impact of declines on the back of lower oil prices in the previous session.

The pound advanced 0.3% to 1.2840, but remained stable against the euro at 92.23 pence after one of the biggest selling waves recorded this year pushed the British currency down nearly 2 percent against the euro on Thursday.