Euro Extends Rise for a Fourth Day as Dollar Softens; Yen Firms on BOJ Hike Bets

The euro was on track for a fourth straight daily advance against the U.S. dollar on Thursday, Nov. 5, 2026, as lower energy prices and the aftermath of the U.S. midterm elections kept the greenback soft, while the Japanese yen firmed on bets the Bank of Japan will raise rates again.

Euro holds gains as the dollar eases

As of about 12:08 p.m. ET, EUR/USD was near 1.1241, up about 0.05% on the day, and the ICE U.S. Dollar Index was near 101.44, down about 0.12%, according to Yahoo Finance data. CNBC said earlier Thursday the euro was up 0.16% at $1.1268 after reaching $1.1273 on Wednesday, its highest level since Oct. 6, and that the dollar index fell 0.10% to 101.38 after hitting 101.21 in Asia, the lowest since Sept. 30.

CNBC framed the euro's rise as support from lower energy prices amid hopes that the risk of Iran-war escalation could ease after Republicans lost control of Congress. George Saravelos, global head of forex strategy at Deutsche Bank, said political developments were "supportive of a continued bottoming out in the euro/dollar," citing lower energy and global policy risk premium but higher AI implementation risks that should on balance weaken the dollar. He has argued that heavy U.S. reliance on foreign equity flows has flipped the usual correlation so that a fall in tech stocks can push the dollar down.

FXStreet later described EUR/USD slipping toward about 1.1220 after an intraday high near 1.1268 as the dollar regained some footing, with the dollar index recovering from an intraday low near 101.20 toward about 101.60 in that report. The midday Yahoo quote near 1.1241 and DXY near 101.44 sat between those earlier extremes. FXStreet said lower-than-expected U.S. jobless claims and comments from Federal Reserve officials helped the greenback stabilize after Wednesday's post-election selloff.

Yen firms; sterling holds near $1.35

USD/JPY was near 157.71 as of about 12:08 p.m. ET, down about 0.39%, meaning it took fewer yen to buy a dollar and the yen was stronger on the day. CNBC said the yen gained after minutes from the Bank of Japan's September meeting, when policymakers raised rates to a 31-year high of 1.25%, reinforced bets for further hikes, with markets widely expecting the next BOJ increase in December. In CNBC's earlier snapshot the yen was at about 158.18 per dollar.

GBP/USD was near 1.3482, up about 0.07%, as of about 12:08 p.m. ET. CNBC said sterling had strengthened about 0.05% to $1.3478 earlier and was poised for a seventh straight daily rise ahead of the Bank of England's policy announcement. The Bank of England later raised Bank Rate by a quarter point to 4% in an 8-1 vote, its first increase since August 2023, a decision already covered in separate reporting; sterling held near the mid-$1.34s after the move rather than leading Thursday's currency story.

Policy signals on both sides of the Atlantic

CNBC said markets were pricing an about 80.7% chance of at least a 25-basis-point Federal Reserve increase at the December meeting, up from 77.4% the prior session, even after the political shift in Washington. FXStreet quoted Cleveland Fed President Beth Hammack as saying monetary policy "needs to move to a restrictive stance" because inflation has been "too high, moving in the wrong direction," and Richmond Fed President Thomas Barkin as saying he does not anticipate inflation will accelerate but also does not see it falling, describing gradual tightening as making sense.

On the euro side, FXStreet said Eurozone producer-price inflation accelerated to 2.5% month over month in September from 2.0%, with the annual rate rising to 11.1% from 8.3%, and that traders still anticipate another European Central Bank hike in December. CNBC cited ECB board member Isabel Schnabel as warning that rising public debt and the rapid expansion of non-bank finance could curb the ECB's ability to set appropriate policy, while noting French fiscal concerns and planned protests and strikes in France on Thursday as potential near-term euro headwinds.

Overall, Thursday's foreign-exchange session left the euro extending its post-election advance against a softer dollar, the yen responding to domestic hike expectations, and sterling consolidating near multi-week highs after the Bank of England's widely expected move to 4%, with energy prices and U.S. equity volatility remaining important cross-market drivers.

Sources: CNBC, Nov. 5, 2026; FXStreet, Nov. 5, 2026; Yahoo Finance market data as of about 12:08 p.m. ET; Bank of England decision context via prior Nov. 5 reporting.