The euro fell in European trading on Monday against a basket of major global currencies, resuming its decline after Friday’s brief rebound against the US dollar. The single currency is now heading toward a two-month low, weighed down by fresh political developments in France, the euro area’s second-largest economy.

The French presidency announced the formation of a new government led by Sébastien Lecornu, with President Emmanuel Macron reappointing one of his closest allies, Roland Lescure, as finance minister.

With inflationary pressures once again building across the eurozone, expectations for further interest rate cuts by the European Central Bank have diminished for the remainder of this year. To reassess those expectations, investors are awaiting additional economic data and remarks from ECB officials.

Price Overview

• Euro exchange rate today: The euro fell by more than 0.2% against the dollar to 1.1592, down from the opening level of 1.1618$, after reaching a session high of 1.1630.

• On Friday, the euro rose 0.5% against the dollar — its first gain in five days — recovering from a two-month low of 1.1542.

• Last week, the euro lost 1.0% against the dollar — its second weekly decline in three weeks and the sharpest drop since late July — amid the ongoing political crisis in France.

US Dollar

The US dollar index rose around 0.3% on Monday, resuming gains after a brief pause in the previous session and moving closer to a two-month high, reflecting continued strength of the greenback against a basket of major and minor currencies.

This advance came after US President Donald Trump signaled openness to dialogue with China to resolve trade disputes between the world’s two largest economies, easing concerns following his earlier threats to impose tariffs of up to 100% on Chinese imports.

Political Developments in France

Over the weekend, the French presidency announced the new government lineup under Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu, with President Macron reinstating Roland Lescure — one of his closest allies — as finance minister.

The appointment came amid a deep political crisis after Lecornu’s previous government resigned just hours after being formed, leaving a vacuum and heightened political tension in Paris.

The main priority for the new French government is to address the budget crisis and push through the national spending bill — a move seen by observers as an attempt to calm markets and build a negotiating bridge with various parliamentary blocs.

However, the decision to name Lescure, a staunch Macron ally, as finance minister has cast doubts over the government’s longevity. Opposition parties have already threatened to bring down the cabinet quickly if it fails to distance itself from Macron’s earlier policies.

European Interest Rates

• Money-market pricing currently implies less than a 10% chance of a 25-basis-point ECB rate cut in October.

• Traders have scaled back bets on further monetary easing, signaling that the current rate-cut cycle is effectively over for this year.

• Policymakers at the European Central Bank believe no additional rate cuts are needed to achieve the 2% inflation target, despite new forecasts pointing to lower rates over the next two years.

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

• Investors are now awaiting fresh economic data across Europe and closely monitoring comments from ECB officials to reassess policy expectations.

Japan’s new Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) leader, Sanae Takaichi, suffered a major setback after the Komeito Party — the LDP’s long-time coalition partner — withdrew from the ruling alliance. Takaichi is now scrambling to secure enough parliamentary support to become Japan’s first female prime minister.

If Takaichi fails to gain sufficient backing in parliament, she may be forced to lead a minority government or call an early election — a scenario that could trigger further pressure on the yen and Japanese markets.

Price Overview

• USD/JPY today: The dollar rose 0.75% against the yen to 152.28¥, up from Friday’s closing level of 151.13¥, after touching a low of 151.73¥ earlier in the session.

• On Friday, the yen had climbed 1.25% versus the dollar — snapping a seven-day losing streak — after hitting an eight-month low of 153.27¥ earlier that day.

• That rebound marked the yen’s biggest one-day gain since August 1, driven by Komeito’s withdrawal from the ruling coalition and renewed fears of US–China trade tensions.

• For the week, the yen fell 2.5% against the dollar — its third weekly loss in a month and the sharpest since September 2024 — following Takaichi’s victory in the LDP leadership race.

Political Developments

Markets quickly reassessed the political outlook for Japan’s new LDP leader, Sanae Takaichi, after Komeito — the LDP’s traditional coalition partner — withdrew from the alliance on Friday, dealing a heavy blow to her hopes of becoming the country’s first female prime minister.

The partnership between the LDP and Komeito had lasted roughly 26 years, providing the parliamentary support needed to pass legislation. However, disagreements over party financing and unmet demands from the junior partner led Komeito to announce its departure from the coalition.

Without Komeito, the LDP no longer commands a majority in both chambers of parliament, raising doubts about Takaichi’s ability to form a stable government. She must now persuade other parties to cooperate in order to assemble a viable parliamentary administration.

Markets are closely watching whether Takaichi can secure sufficient backing or will instead face the prospect of a fragile minority government or early elections — outcomes that could weigh heavily on the yen and Japanese equities.

Analysts’ Views

• Carol Kong, currency strategist at Commonwealth Bank of Australia in Sydney, said: “The USD/JPY rally has been almost uninterrupted, and it seems that only profit-taking could temporarily halt the climb.”

• She added: “In the short term, confirmation of Takaichi’s appointment as prime minister and the upcoming Bank of Japan meeting in October may act as catalysts for further yen weakness, especially if she reinforces her dovish fiscal and monetary stance and the central bank signals no near-term rate hikes.”

• Karl Schamotta, chief market strategist at Corpay in Toronto, noted that traders have grown increasingly skeptical about Takaichi’s ability to push through fiscal stimulus and resist the Bank of Japan’s tightening plans.

• He added: “This reflects Japan’s underlying inflation dynamics — households are demanding change as inflation remains elevated.”

Interest Rate Outlook

• Following Takaichi’s leadership victory, market pricing for a 25-basis-point rate hike by the Bank of Japan in October fell from 60% to 25%.

• Yen swap markets now imply just a 41% chance of a rate hike by December — down from 68% before the LDP leadership election.

Since the late 1960s, scientists have dreamed of placing solar panels in outer space. By the 1970s, it was already clear that generating solar energy from space was technically feasible. But the real race toward space-based solar power (SBSP) began only recently, driven by the world’s growing need to produce more electricity to meet the accelerating demand for energy.

As electrification expands across industries, artificial intelligence and big data continue to grow, and the deadlines for reducing carbon emissions draw nearer, innovative energy solutions are more urgent than ever. It now seems that space-based solar power is finally ready for its time in the sun.

A New Technology with Limitless Ambition

This emerging technology relies on massive satellites that collect high-density sunlight in space and transmit it to Earth through microwave or laser beams. The energy is then captured by ground-based stations that convert it into electricity for national grids.

A key advantage of this system is its flexibility — satellites can beam energy directly to almost any point on the planet thanks to their wide coverage range.

Clean Energy Around the Clock

The greatest benefit of space-based solar power is that its panels operate above Earth’s atmosphere and weather systems. They are unaffected by day-night cycles or cloud cover, allowing them to capture uninterrupted sunlight 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

This makes them capable of producing vast amounts of clean energy that could transform the global energy landscape.

Europe as the Biggest Potential Beneficiary

According to researchers at King’s College London, space-based solar power could reduce Europe’s dependence on terrestrial renewable sources by up to 80% and cut the need for battery storage by more than two-thirds.

Economically, the study estimates that this system could lower Europe’s total energy system costs by as much as 15%, saving around €35.9 billion ($41.7 billion) annually in generation, storage, and grid infrastructure expenses.

Higher Energy Density, Lower Use of Rare Resources

Thanks to the high energy density of space-based systems, these projects require far fewer materials than conventional solar installations.

A report by the World Economic Forum notes that such systems need dramatically less rare metal to deliver the same continuous energy output as large-scale, storage-based ground systems. The report adds that this approach is more sustainable, easing pressure on natural resources — a challenge the International Energy Agency (IEA) has warned will be critical in the years ahead.

Saving the Earth from Its Space Problem

Another major advantage is that these systems require far less land area than traditional solar farms.

Since the panels are deployed in orbit, the receiving stations on Earth can be relatively small and semi-transparent, allowing dual use in residential, agricultural, or industrial zones. This could help overcome the land scarcity problem faced by large-scale renewable energy projects.

A Global Race Toward the Sun

Awareness of SBSP’s potential has accelerated investment worldwide.

In the United States, the United Kingdom, China, Japan, and across Europe, research institutions are fast-tracking their space-solar programs. The private sector is also joining in: Baiju Bhatt, co-founder of the trading platform Robinhood, launched a startup called Aetherflux last year to develop space-based solar technology.

Funding: The Biggest Hurdle

Despite the growing momentum, SBSP still faces key obstacles before achieving commercial-scale deployment.

The greatest challenge is financing. Private investment typically favors short-term, quick-return startups, while space infrastructure projects require long-term, capital-intensive commitments.

Although the technology promises enormous savings over time, it does not offer investors fast or guaranteed returns.

Betting on Government and Military Support

For that reason, startups in the sector are focusing on securing government contracts as the most realistic way to move space-based solar power from concept to orbit.

Christian Garcia, managing partner at Breakthrough Energy Ventures — one of Aetherflux’s main backers — told CNBC: “We believe the military customer base is large enough and complex enough that if we can serve it successfully, we can build a complete orbital energy system at scale. At that point, we’ll have reduced the cost of the technology enough to expand to other markets.”

In short, space-based solar power may finally be on the verge of becoming a viable clean-energy solution — one that could reshape how humanity powers its future.

Copper prices rose on Friday, extending gains as the US dollar weakened against most major currencies and concerns over supply shortages persisted in global markets.

On Thursday, copper prices surged sharply to reach $11,000 per metric ton — a level not seen in over 16 months — amid widespread mine disruptions that sparked fears of supply deficits and attracted speculative investment inflows.

The benchmark three-month copper contract on the London Metal Exchange (LME) climbed 3.1% to $11,000 per ton, nearing its all-time high of $11,104.50 set in May 2024.

The red metal has now gained more than 21% since the start of 2025, supported by strong global demand, a weaker US dollar, and lower interest rates. A series of incidents at major copper mines — including last month’s mudslide at Indonesia’s Grasberg mine — have also fueled the latest rally.

Alastair Munro, senior metals analyst at brokerage firm Marex, said the market is witnessing “unusual” external investment inflows, adding that “the market doesn’t have much experience dealing with the strength of this type of investment.”

Meanwhile, the US dollar index fell 0.5% to 99.0 at 16:13 GMT, after hitting a high of 99.4 and a low of 98.9.

In US trading, December copper futures rose 0.5% to $5.15 per pound at 16:28 GMT.