Dollar firmer, euro weakens as French protests turn violent

Early Asian trading on Monday saw the dollar firm slightly from close to its weakest point this month. Business Recorder reported that unrest in France pushed the euro down 0.1% to $1.1225. The dollar index held flat at 101.83.

French President Emmanuel Macron condemned on Sunday what he described as shocking scenes of violence at protests over living costs, a day after the country saw some of its most serious unrest in years. Kieran Williams of InTouch Capital Markets in London said the weekend turmoil feeds into the euro chiefly via French bonds, rather than in a direct manner. Against the yen, the dollar held at 158.00 after Bank of Japan Governor Kazuo Ueda said on Monday that underlying inflation was almost at the bank's 2% objective.

Brent crude futures slid 1.7% to $108.02 after US President Donald Trump set aside sanctions and tariffs on Russia, a move that could allow more Russian fuel exports. Fed funds futures imply an 84% chance that the Federal Reserve holds rates steady at its October 28 meeting, as tracked by the CME Group's FedWatch tool. Bitcoin rose 1.4% to $82,067.66 while ether gained 3.0% to $2,420.22.