Eurodrama in currency markets raises U.S. dollar's standing

Data: FactSet; Chart: Courtenay Brown/AxiosThe euro fell to a 17-month low against the dollar on Monday as political and fiscal worries rattled European markets.Why it matters: Rising borrowing costs and political instability are reviving concerns about strains within the eurozone — and whether the European Central Bank may eventually have to step in.France is grappling with high deficits, rising long-term rates and political stalemate over how to address them, as our colleague Emily Peck noted.Spain's prime minister called a snap election for Nov. 29, which could strengthen Pedro Sánchez's position or open the door to a populist right government.By the numbers: The euro fell below $1.12, its lowest since May 2025 and down about 4% since Sept. 8.Between the lines: France's rising borrowing costs echo the eurozone crisis of the early 2010s, though the ECB now has more tools to contain market stress.What they're saying: In an opinion article Monday in the Financial Times, former ECB board member Lorenzo Bini Smaghi called for the central bank to suspend its quantitative tightening program in light of stress on long-term rates.Compared with the early 2010s, the ECB "is much better equipped to address tensions in financial markets that could endanger the integrity of the single currency," he wrote. "It has bond-buying tools and programmes that address spikes in yields.""However, one aspect that is more difficult to understand for observers and market participants is why, in the current stress, the ECB continues to implement its policy of quantitative tightening," he continues, or shrinking its balance sheet by not replacing government bonds as they mature."This policy means that a larger share of the net supply of government bonds has to be absorbed by private investors, at a time when long-term rates are already under upward pressure," Bini Smaghi wrote.