The euro rose in European trade on Monday on track for the second straight profit against the dollar, amid renewed inflationary pressures on the European Central Bank’s policymakers.

The pressures hurt the odds of an ECB interest rate cut in June as investors await more clues on the path ahead for monetary policies.

The Price

The EUR/USD price rose 0.4% today to $1.1347, with a session-low at $1.1294.

The pair closed up 0.1% on Friday, the first profit in four days away from a two-week trough at $1.1265, following strong eurozone inflation data.

The euro lost 0.55% last week against the dollar, the second weekly loss in a row on concerns about the wider US-eurozone interest rate gap.

Inflationary Pressures

Earlier data showed eurozone inflation passed estimates in April, renewing pressures on ECB policymakers.

Eurozone’s consumer prices rose 2.7% in April, up from a 2.4% rise in March, and passing estimates of a 2.5% increase.

European Rates

Following the data, the odds of an ECB 0.25% interest rate cut in June fell from 60% to 50%.

Now traders await a batch of data and remarks by ECB officials this week to gather more clues.

The Australian dollar rallied in Asian trade on Monday to a five-month high against the US dollar, expanding gains for the second straight session and on track towards 65 cents.

It comes after a historic win by the governing Labor Party, which bolsters the government’s position towards growing global trade risks from Trump’s tariffs.

The Price

The AUD/USD price rose 0.55% today to $0.6481, the highest since December 2024, with a session-low at $0.6445.

The pair rose 1% on Friday, marking the best daily profit since April 11 as US-China trade tensions calmed.

Aussie rose 0.75% against the greenback last week, marking the fourth weekly profit in a row as positive sentiment grips the global financial markets.

Australian Elections

The Australian federal elections netted a majority win for the governing Labor Party,which won between 85 and 899 seats in the 150-seat Parliament, with Prime Minister Albanese becoming the first to win two consecutive terms in nearly 20 years.

The Liberal Party, led by Peter Dutton, suffered a heavy defeat with only 36 seats, with Dutton himself losing his seat.

The results expand the majority of the Labor Party and give the government a strong hand in navigating the current turbulent economic conditions. 

US stock indices rose on Friday after strong US payrolls data for April. 

US unemployment was unchanged in April at 4.2%, same as expectations. 

The US economy added 177 thousand new jobs in April, above expectations of a 138 thousand addition, while the previous reading was revised downward to show an addition of 228 thousand instead of 185 thousand.

US President Donald Trump commented on the strong data and once again asked Fed Chair Jerome Powell to cut interest rates.

Nearly two thirds of S&P 500 companies reported their results for the first quarter, with 76% beating forecasts for profits.

On trading, Dow Jones rose 1.1%, or 446 points to 41204 points as of 16:47 GMT, while S&P 500 added 1.3%, or 73 points to 5677 points, as NASDAQ climbed 1.4% to 17,965 points.

Bitcoin rose on Friday on track for the second daily profit in a row, trading near three-month highs and about to mark the fourth weekly profit in a row on strong crypto momentum.

The currency is targeting the coveted $100,000 once more as US company MicroStrategy raised its bitcoin holdings to a new record high, and with strong cash inflow into bitcoin exchange funds in the US, boosting liquidity. 

The Price

Bitcoin rose 0.8% at Bitstamp today to $97,306, with a session-low at $96,399.

On Thursday, bitcoin rose 2.5%, the first profit in three days, hitting a three-month high at $97,470.

Crypto Market Value 

The market value of cryptocurrencies rose by $20 billion on Friday to a total of $3.132.

Bitcoin is up 3.5% so far this week, on track for the fourth weekly profit in a row.

MicroStrategy

Through the X platform, MicroStrategy’s chairman Micheal Saylor announced a new round of bitcoin purchases amounting to 15,355 units, bringing the company’s holdings to a new record high.

The purchase occurred between April 21 and 26, with the company spending $1.42 billion in total, averaging $92,737 per unit.

After the new acquisition, the company now holds 553,555 units in total, worth $37.93 billion, with an average price of $68,519 per bitcoin.

Bullish Outlook

The crypto market moved within a limited range last week, which opened the way for a strong higher breakout in upcoming sessions.

Periods of calm sideways trading in the crypto market are usually followed by aggressive one-sided breakouts, with bitcoin likely surpassing $100,000 soon.

Bitcoin Exchange Funds

US bitcoin funds had inflows of over $3 billion over the past 9 days, with the series of increasing inflows capped by a drop of $56 million on Wednesday.