EUR/CAD fell for a fourth session, trading near 1.5940 in European hours as
worries over French fiscal stability and euro-area contagion weighed on the
euro. Heavy selling of French bonds has pushed France’s sovereign risk premium
to its highest level since the euro-area debt crisis, with investors switching
into German bunds; a minority French government last month announced €54bn of
spending cuts to try to avoid a major rating downgrade or sovereign default.
Germany’s trade surplus also pressured the euro. A sharp global oil rally —
after reports the Trump administration asked the Pentagon to draw up plans for a
strike on Iran ahead of the US midterms — supported the commodity-linked
Canadian dollar and added further downside pressure to EUR/CAD.
