The euro fell on Friday (Oct 23) and was on track for a weekly loss against the US dollar and the yen, after a selloff in French government bonds pushed France's debt risk premium to its highest since the 2011 euro zone sovereign debt crisis. Concerns over unrest and worsening budget problems in France weighed on the currency, as France deployed 70,000 police for Saturday's protests and Moody's was due to review the country's debt rating later that day. The euro was last at US$1.1191, set to end the week 0.43 per cent lower, and touched 175.08 yen, its lowest since October 2025. The yen gained for the week on safe-haven flows following Thursday's AI stock selloff, while traders await next week's Fed, ECB and BOJ meetings, all expected to leave rates unchanged.
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exchange rateseuropublic debtFranceECB
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Related tickers and likely impact
EUR/USD
▼ Likely negativeRelevance: medium
| Market | Currencies |
|---|---|
| Close on 10/23/2026 | 1.12044 |
| Change that session | -0.11% |
NVDA
▼ Likely negativeNvidia
Relevance: medium
| Market | US stocks |
|---|---|
| Sector | Information Technology |
| Industry | Semiconductors |
| Market cap | $5.2T |
| Close on 10/23/2026 | 211.00 |
| Change that session | -0.57% |
QQQ
▼ Likely negativeInvesco QQQ Trust
Relevance: medium
| Market | US stocks |
|---|---|
| Sector | ETF |
| Close on 10/23/2026 | 704.39 |
| Change that session | -0.01% |
DXY
▲ Likely positiveRelevance: medium
| Market | Currencies |
|---|---|
| Close on 10/23/2026 | 101.74 |
| Change that session | +0.11% |
SPY
▼ Likely negativeSPDR S&P 500 ETF
Relevance: low
| Market | US stocks |
|---|---|
| Sector | ETF |
| Close on 10/23/2026 | 759.85 |
| Change that session | -0.54% |
USD/JPY
▼ Likely negativeRelevance: low
| Market | Currencies |
|---|---|
| Close on 10/23/2026 | 156.843 |
| Change that session | +0.05% |
Impact is scored by AI from the headline and may be wrong. It is not investment advice.
Related news
- Brooks Says French Bond Strain Has Reached Eurozone Periphery
Robin J Brooks, writing on Substack on Oct. 19, argues that strain in France's bond market is widening borrowing cost gaps across the eurozone periphery, raising contagion risks for other heavily indebted countries. Spreads of 10-year yields over German yields have risen across the periphery as France's spread climbed, and France's 10-year yield hit its highest level of 2026 on Oct. 19. Brooks expects the ECB may first try to cap yields in peripheral countries, notably Italy, though this is his forecast, not announced policy. He notes the equal-weighted average of 10-year yields in the rest of the G10 rose when French yields jumped, which he sees as evidence the strain reaches beyond the eurozone. He believes markets expect the French government to offer concessions to protesters, which would worsen its budget, and in an earlier outlook he assigned a 30% probability to a French debt crisis by year-end.
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In early October, the 10-year French government bond yield approached 5% and at one point reached 4.93%, while its spread over German bonds briefly exceeded 150 basis points, the widest since the 2011 eurozone debt crisis, leaving French financing costs above those of Italy and Greece. The article links the sell-off to the ECB's rate hike in September and high energy prices, with eurozone inflation reaching 3.8% year-on-year in September and energy prices up 18.8%. Although yields have risen across European sovereign bonds, the article argues Europe faces more severe stagflation pressure than the U.S., where a $39 billion 10-year Treasury auction on October 8 drew robust demand at a 5.3% yield. The euro fell to 1.1185 against the dollar on October 8, and the article warns that political risks in France could amplify market volatility.
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- ECB Fixing Shows Euro Down 0.24% Against Pound on Oct. 21
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