Euro slips on French confidence slump as dollar firms ahead of Fed

The euro slipped against a firmer dollar on Tuesday as French consumer confidence fell to its lowest level since 2013. A run of US data that beat forecasts added support to the dollar as traders waited for the Federal Reserve's rate decision.

What moved and why

The main new story since our last update came from France. According to investingLive, French consumer confidence dropped to 80 in October against 85 expected, from a prior reading revised to 85. investingLive linked the fall to fiscal worries and concerns over public finances, and noted the index has not been at its long-term average of 100 since December 2021.

Investing.com summed up the session as the dollar firming on an AI rebound while the euro tripped on French worries.

The ECB reference rates for 27 October reflect that move. EUR/USD was fixed at 1.1150, down 0.34% from 1.1188 on 26 October. It is the lowest of the last five fixings and 0.58% below the 20 October level. You can follow the pair on the EUR/USD chart.

Other fixings from the same day pointed to broad dollar strength against Europe and Japan:

• GBP/USD fixed at 1.3328, down 0.15%.
• USD/JPY fixed at 157.82, up 0.23%.
• USD/CHF fixed at 0.8286, up 0.30%.
• NZD/USD bucked the trend, fixed at 0.5703, up 0.39%.
• USD/CAD was nearly flat at 1.4023, down 0.04%.

These are official once-a-day fixings, not live quotes.

US data beats forecasts

US releases mostly came in ahead of expectations. investingLive reports that October consumer confidence rose to 91.7 against 81.0 expected. The publisher cautioned that the jump follows the worst reading since 2014 and that levels remain extremely depressed.

September durable goods orders rose 1.8% against 1.7% expected, investingLive says, though the ex-transport figure of 0.5% missed the 0.6% forecast. New home sales came in at 0.676 million annualized against a 0.650 million estimate. The Richmond Fed manufacturing index matched forecasts at -2.

Treasury yields stayed near multi-week lows ahead of the Fed decision, according to Investing.com.

Central banks in the news

Federal Reserve

The Fed decision dominates the week. investingLive's European wrap described markets as rangebound ahead of the FOMC and carried a preview headlined "a hawkish hold", with markets watching for signals on the timing and extent of further tightening. For how the meeting is weighing on crypto, see our sister site's report on Bitcoin holding near $80,300 as the Fed meeting begins.

ECB

The ECB published its October 2026 euro area bank lending survey. investingLive's wrap noted that the ECB rate outlook is growing more complicated as bank lending conditions tighten.

Bank of Canada and sterling

The Canadian dollar slipped as investors awaited the Bank of Canada and Fed rate decisions, Investing.com reports. Sterling dipped on the firm dollar, with the Fed and the UK budget looming, according to Investing.com.

What to watch next

1. Fed decision. The main event for the dollar, with investingLive previewing a hawkish hold.
2. Bank of Canada decision. Flagged by Investing.com as a key driver for the loonie alongside the Fed.
3. UK budget. Cited by Investing.com as a looming risk for sterling.
4. US midterm elections. investingLive's daily agenda lists them among the near-term risks keeping sentiment neutral to bearish.
5. French fiscal worries. Any further pressure would keep the euro in focus after Tuesday's confidence slump.