The euro stabilized on Tuesday, having reached its highest level for three and a half weeks during the day against the dollar, which for its part is at its lowest level for three weeks.

While traders were waiting for US employment at the end of the week, after a rather cautious message from the President of the Fed, the European currency took 0.09% to 1.1808 dollars, after having reached 1.1832 dollars for one euro towards 08:40 GMT, a high since August 6. The dollar was trading against a basket of currencies near a three-week low. The greenback has been in the hot seat since Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said at the Jackson Hole conference on Friday that the US central bank may reduce its bond-buying program this year, without however, give a precise timetable.

The dollar index slipped a quarter percent to 92.456, its lowest level since August 6. The pound rose to its highest level in two weeks at $1.38010, before falling back below $1.38. The yen remained broadly stable at 109.945 to the dollar. The New Zealand dollar strengthened nearly 1% to $0.70685, a day after the country's Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern partially eased restrictions outside Auckland. The offshore Chinese yuan slipped against the dollar but remained broadly stable after surveys of factories and the service sector. In cryptocurrencies, bitcoin gained 0.8% to $47,369, recouping some of the previous day's losses. The annual inflation rate in the euro zone jumped in August to 3%, the highest for almost 10 years, clearly exceeding the 2% target of the ECB, Eurostat announced on Tuesday.