EUR/USD hovered just above 1.1150 during Monday’s Asian session, as FXStreet tied the euro’s small gain to Iran diplomacy hopes and said France’s debt outlook limited its advance.
Al Jazeera reported Oct. 31 that Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Tehran was discussing a proposal through Qatari mediators to shorten the time needed to reopen the Strait of Hormuz to two days, subject to Iran’s conditions. He said a direct meeting with U.S. officials was not planned at that stage.
The European Central Bank (ECB) left its three key rates unchanged on Oct. 29: the deposit facility at 2.50%, main refinancing operations at 2.65% and marginal lending facility at 2.90%. Euro-area inflation rose to 3.8% in September from 3.2% in August, while energy inflation increased to 18.9% from 14.3%. ECB President Christine Lagarde said, “We are not pre-committing to a particular rate path.” The ECB’s next policy meeting is scheduled for Dec. 16-17.
France’s Treasury and Agence France Trésor forecast Maastricht public debt at 119.3% of GDP in 2026 and 121.7% in 2027, compared with 115.7% at the end of 2025. French statistics agency INSEE reported debt of 119.0% of GDP, or €3,595.5 billion, at the end of the second quarter of 2026. The Treasury report said deficits would remain too high to stabilize the debt ratio. It projected debt-service costs rising from 2.2% of GDP in 2025 to 3.7% in 2030, as higher rates raise financing costs when older debt matures and is refinanced.
The Institute for Supply Management (ISM) scheduled its October manufacturing report for 10 a.m. ET Monday, Nov. 2. The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) scheduled the October U.S. jobs report for 8:30 a.m. ET Nov. 6.
