The euro was on track for its biggest monthly fall since January as political uncertainty weighed in the run up to France’s general elections, while the dollar jumped to a near four-decade high against the battered yen ahead of key inflation data.
The dollar was also helped overnight by a disappointing performance by President Joe Biden in the first presidential debate late Thursday, increasing the chances of Republican candidate Donald Trump winning November’s vote.
The yellow metal had stuck to a tight trading range through most of June, amid growing uncertainty over the path of U.S. interest rates. While some data showed the U.S. economy was cooling, Federal Reserve officials warned that sticky inflation was likely to delay any plans to cut interest rates.
Distributions of tokens stolen from the Mt Gox exchange in 2014 remained the biggest point of concern for Bitcoin. Liquidators for the exchange said distributions will begin in early July, and will see stolen Bitcoin and Bitcoin Cash tokens being returned to clients.
European equities have been boosted by the news that Britain’s economy grew 0.7% in the first three months of this year compared with the previous quarter, above an initial estimate of 0.6% growth.
China hopes to reach mutually acceptable solutions through negotiation with the European Union on planned tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles to avoid escalation of trade friction, the Chinese commerce ministry said on Thursday.
The Japanese currency has fallen some 2% for the month and 12% for the year against a resilient dollar, as it continues to be hammered by stark interest rate differentials between the U.S. and Japan, which has maintained the appeal of using the yen as a funding currency for carry trades.
Oil prices dipped on Thursday as a surprise build in U.S. stockpiles fuelled fears about slow demand from the world’s top oil consumer, though declines were capped by worries a potential expansion of the Gaza war may disrupt Middle East supplies.
Abra will also be required to refund up to $82.1 million to customers in the 25 states. The states involved in the settlement – including Washington, Texas, Georgia and Ohio – agreed to forgo monetary penalties in order for customers to be fully repaid.
 European shares were little changed on Thursday as investors refrained from making large bets ahead of crucial global economic data and French elections later in the week, while H&M (ST:HMb) slid after missing quarterly profit estimates.
