Euro Advances On Hopes Of Large ECB Rate Hike

(RTTNews) - The euro was higher against its major counterparts in the European session on Monday, as hawkish comments from policymakers of the European Central Bank raised expectations for a 75 basis-point rate hike in September.

Central banks must act forcefully to control inflation, although that could push their economies into a recession, European Central Bank board member Isabel Schnabel said at the Jackson Hole symposium on Saturday.

Although the economy enters a recession, the ECB has little choice but to continue the normalization path, Schnabel added.

"We should be open to discussing both 50 and 75 basis points as possible moves. From the current perspective, it should at least be 50," Latvian central bank Governor Martins Kazaks said.

German bond yields rose, with the yield on the 10-year German bund reaching 1.473 percent.

The euro firmed to near a 2-week high of 0.9697 against the franc and near a 6-week high of 0.8550 against the pound, off its early lows of 0.9611 and 0.8483, respectively. The euro is seen finding resistance around 1.03 against the franc and 0.87 against the pound.

The euro appreciated to near 5-week highs of 138.83 against the yen and 1.6344 against the kiwi, after falling to 136.92 and 1.6191, respectively in early deals. The currency is likely to locate resistance around 140.00 against the yen and 1.68 against the kiwi.

The euro reversed from its prior lows of 1.4442 against the aussie and 1.2955 against the loonie, touching a 1-week high of 1.4558 and a 10-day high of 1.3055, respectively. If the euro rises further, 1.47 and 1.32 are possibly seen as its next resistance levels against the aussie and the loonie, respectively.

The euro recovered to 1.0029 against the greenback, from a 5-day low of 0.9914 seen at 1 am ET. On the upside, 1.08 is possibly seen as its next resistance level.