Investing.com - The euro was trading at more than one-year lows on Monday as a crash in the Turkish Lira roiled global markets amid fears that the country’s financial crisis could spread to European markets.
The lira fell to a record low against the dollar overnight with USD/TRY hitting 7.0303, before easing back slightly to 6.7779, still up 5.84% for the day.
The lira found some support after Turkey’s central bank pledged to provide liquidity and cut lira and foreign currency reserve requirements for Turkish banks.
Fears over contagion effects mounted after the European Central Bank warned Friday that a number of euro zone banks might be exposed to the sharp decline in the Turkish lira.
Turkey’s currency has tumbled more than 40% this year on worries about President Tayyip Erdogan's increasing control over monetary policy and the economy and deteriorating relations with the U.S, chiefly over the war in Syria.
The euro fell to its lowest levels in more than a year, with EUR/USD down 0.31% at 1.1382 after touching a low of 1.1365 earlier.
The drop in the euro came as the falling lira fueled demand for safe havens, including the U.S. dollar, Swiss franc and yen.
The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a basket of six major currencies, was up 0.15% to 96.33, the most since June 27, 2017, after gaining 1.33% last week.
The yen was higher against the dollar and the euro, with USD/JPY shedding 0.53% to trade at 110.21 and EUR/JPY down 0.94% to 125.39.
The euro was also lower against the Swiss franc, with EUR/CHF down 0.35% to 1.1315.
The pound was wallowing near its lowest levels since June 2017, with GBP/USD at 1.2760, pressured lower by the stronger dollar and fears over the growing prospect of a ‘no-deal’ Brexit.
Elsewhere in emerging markets, Russia’s ruble fell to its lowest level since mid-April 2016, weighed down by the broadly stronger dollar, falling oil prices and concerns over the impact of a fresh round of U.S. sanctions.