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- EUR/USD faces challenges as S&P Global Ratings downgrades France’s credit rating to A+ from AA-.
- The US Dollar struggles as the US federal government shutdown continues for the 19th day with no resolution.
- President Trump said over the weekend that he believes China will make a deal on soybeans.
EUR/USD struggles for the second successive session, trading around 1.1660 during the Asian hours on Monday. The pair depreciates as the Euro (EUR) struggles after Bloomberg reported on Saturday that S&P Global Ratings downgraded France’s credit rating to A+ from AA-, citing “elevated” budget uncertainty despite the government’s submission of its 2025 draft budget.
France has lost its AA- rating at two of the three major credit assessors in little more than a month, including downgrades from Fitch and DBRS. The downgrade came after a week of political turmoil in which French Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu narrowly survived two no-confidence votes in parliament. To retain power, his new government was forced to abandon President Emmanuel Macron’s widely unpopular 2023 pension reform.
The downside of the EUR/USD pair could be restrained as the US Dollar (USD) remains under pressure due to the ongoing US federal government shutdown. The government shutdown has stretched into its 19th day with no resolution in sight, as senators failed for the tenth time to break the impasse during Thursday’s votes. It now stands as the third-longest funding lapse in modern US history.
However, the US Dollar (USD) may limit its losses amid easing US-China trade tensions. US President Donald Trump said over the weekend that he wants China to buy soybeans at least in the amount they were buying before. Trump added that he believes China will make a deal on soybeans. “We can lower what China has to pay in tariffs, but China has to do things for us too,” he added.
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng are scheduled to meet in the coming days to ease tensions ahead of a potential meeting between Presidents Trump and Xi later this month.
