The euro fell in the European market on Monday against a basket of global currencies, deepening its losses for the fourth consecutive day against the US dollar, recording its lowest level in nearly two weeks, amid negative pressure on the single currency, especially with focus on buying the US currency as the best alternative investment.

After the European Central Bank’s latest hawkish meeting, the chances of cutting European interest rates before the end of this year declined, and to confirm those expectations investors are awaiting further evidence on the path of monetary easing in the eurozone.

Price Overview

• Today’s euro exchange rate: The euro fell against the dollar by 0.15% to $1.1726, its lowest since September 15, from an opening level of $1.1744, with a high of $1.1748.

• The euro ended Friday’s session down 0.35% against the dollar, marking its third daily loss in a row, amid concerns over financial stability in Europe.

US Dollar

The dollar index rose by about 0.2% on Monday, extending gains for the fourth straight session, hitting a two-week high of 97.81 points, reflecting the continued rise of the American currency against a basket of global currencies.

This rise came as traders reassessed near-term expectations after the Federal Reserve cut interest rates last week but signaled that further monetary easing would proceed only gradually.

About 10 Federal Reserve officials, including Chairman Jerome Powell, are scheduled to speak this week, with investors closely monitoring their views on the economy and the independence of the US central bank.

European Interest Rates

• In line with expectations, the European Central Bank this month kept key interest rates unchanged at 2.15%, their lowest level since October 2022, marking the second meeting in a row with no change.

• The ECB said in its monetary policy statement: inflation is currently approaching the 2% medium-term target, and the Governing Council’s assessment of inflation expectations has not changed overall.

• Sources: Policymakers at the ECB believe there is no need for further interest rate cuts to achieve 2% inflation, despite new economic forecasts pointing to a decline in rates over the next two years.

• Sources: Unless the eurozone faces another major economic shock, borrowing costs are expected to remain at current levels for some time.

• Money market pricing for a 25-basis-point ECB rate cut in October fell from 30% to below 10%.

• Traders have reduced their bets on ECB monetary easing, indicating the end of this year’s rate-cutting cycle.

• To reprice those odds, investors are awaiting a stream of upcoming European economic data, in addition to monitoring comments from ECB officials.

The Japanese yen fell in Asian markets on Monday at the start of the week’s trading against a basket of major and minor currencies, recording its lowest level in two weeks against the US dollar, with the continued rise of the American currency in the foreign exchange market.

The decline also came after less hawkish comments from Bank of Japan Governor Kazuo Ueda, which reduced the likelihood of a rate hike in October, as investors await further evidence on the path of monetary policy normalization in the world’s fourth-largest economy.

Price Overview

• Today’s yen exchange rate: The dollar rose against the yen by 0.3% to ¥148.38, its highest since September 8, from an opening level of ¥147.94, with a low of ¥147.84.

• The yen ended Friday’s session slightly higher by less than 0.1% against the dollar, its first gain in three days, after the Bank of Japan meeting results were released.

US Dollar

The dollar index rose by about 0.2% on Monday, extending its gains for the fourth consecutive session, hitting a two-week high of 97.81 points, reflecting continued strength of the US currency against a basket of global currencies.

This rise came as traders reassessed near-term expectations after the Federal Reserve cut interest rates last week but signaled that further monetary easing would proceed only gradually.

Around 10 Federal Reserve officials, including Chairman Jerome Powell, are scheduled to speak this week, with investors closely watching their views on the economy and the independence of the US central bank.

Kazuo Ueda

Governor Ueda said on Friday: “We must pay attention to the impact of trade policies on financial markets, foreign exchange markets, as well as on Japan’s economy and prices.”

He added that the Bank of Japan will continue to raise interest rates if the economy and prices move in line with expectations, depending on improvements in economic and price conditions.

Commenting on the opposition of board members Hajime Takata and Naoki Tamura, who preferred a rate hike, Ueda said: the board did not agree on the proposal put forward by Takata and Tamura.

On the Federal Reserve’s decision, Ueda said: “The Fed’s rate cut will support the US economy, while there is no change in the outlook for the global economy.”

Japanese Interest Rates

• Following Ueda’s comments, market pricing for a 25-basis-point hike at the October Bank of Japan meeting fell from 75% to below 50%.

• To reprice those odds, investors are awaiting further data on inflation, unemployment, and wages in Japan.

Gold prices rose during Friday’s trading despite the dollar strengthening against most major currencies, with the precious metal recording gains for the fifth consecutive week as markets focused on the Federal Reserve’s monetary policy path.

Neel Kashkari, President of the Minneapolis Federal Reserve, praised the central bank’s decision earlier this week to cut interest rates by 25 basis points, saying that similar cuts at the final two meetings of this year would be appropriate.

Former Fed member James Bullard also stated that the 25-basis-point rate cut was a good step and expects two additional cuts totaling 50 basis points before the end of the year.

Meanwhile, the US dollar index rose by 0.3% to 97.6 points at 20:08 GMT, hitting a high of 97.8 points and a low of 97.2 points.

As for trading, spot gold rose by 1.1% to $3,717.9 per ounce at 20:09 GMT, with the precious metal gaining 0.5% this week.

Globally, demand for food, water, and energy is rising sharply. The World Economic Forum says that by 2050, demand for food could grow by more than 50%, energy by up to 19%, and water by up to 30%. The increasing scarcity of these resources—and the potential solutions for managing them sustainably—are closely interconnected, calling for integrated approaches.

The World Economic Forum wrote in a report released last July: “Any disruption in one of these resources reinforces vulnerabilities and trade-offs in the others. Such disruptions also create opportunities for sustainable growth, greater resilience, and more equity.” The idea of synergistic solutions within this nexus has been gaining momentum in both the public and private sectors.

One example is a new initiative in California called Project Nexus, which seeks to put this nexus into practice. The innovative project aims to integrate water management and renewable energy production in some of the sunniest and most water-stressed farmland in the United States by covering miles of irrigation canals with solar panels, producing multiple benefits within the water–energy–food framework.

While the panels generate clean energy, they also shade the canals from harsh desert sun, reducing water losses from evaporation and limiting aquatic weed growth that could choke waterways. In addition, the water beneath the panels serves as a natural cooling system. According to a report by SFGATE, this $20 million state-funded initiative could generate up to 1.6 megawatts of renewable power “along with a host of other benefits.”

Beyond these advantages, placing solar panels above existing agricultural infrastructure could provide key benefits compared with traditional solar farms. They can be adopted more quickly and easily because they avoid land-use conflicts, which have become a major obstacle for utility-scale solar projects across the U.S. “Putting solar panels on existing infrastructure does not require altering the landscape, and these relatively small installations can connect to nearby distribution lines, avoiding the complex process of tying into high-voltage transmission needed for large projects,” according to Canary Media.

The outcome of Project Nexus and similar models appears to be a triple win for water, energy, and food, all while using less land. Project scientist Brandi McKuin said: “The challenges of climate change will force us to do more with far fewer resources… so this is just an example of the kind of infrastructure that can make us more resilient.” She added that the project will not release final figures until after a full year of operation, but current analysis shows performance is on track to meet its goals.

Project Nexus is not the first to install solar panels over canals, but it remains among the few such projects worldwide. The U.S. launched its first and only project of this kind in Arizona late last year, generating power for the Pima and Maricopa tribes, together known as the Gila River Indian Community. While many large-scale renewable energy projects have faced land-use disputes tied to tribal lands, the Arizona project demonstrates that the canal model can be an excellent alternative.

David DeJong, director of the Pima-Maricopa irrigation project, told Grist: “Why disrupt sacred lands when we can simply put solar panels over a canal and generate more efficient power?” In line with the spirit of synergistic water–energy solutions, the project is also working on a system to deliver water to the Gila River Indian Community, which faces water scarcity.

Of course, these pilot projects generate far less power than utility-scale solar farms. But research suggests that if the solar canal concept were expanded to cover 8,000 miles of federally owned canals and waterways in the U.S., the impact could be significant. In 2023, a coalition of environmental organizations estimated that installing panels on all such existing infrastructure could generate more than 25 gigawatts of power while preventing the evaporation of tens of billions of gallons of water.