TOKYO (Reuters) – The dollar edged up on Friday though it remained on track for weekly losses, while the euro slumped after Catalan vote results indicated a victory for separatists in a blow to Madrid.
Spain’s government had hoped that the Catalan election would strip pro-independence parties of their control of the regional parliament and end their campaign to force a split. But with 96 percent of ballots counted in a vote to elect Catalonia’s regional parliament, separatist parties are seen winning 70 seats out of 135.
The euro was down 0.2 percent at $1.1848 EUR= after dipping as low as $1.1817 in the Asian morning session. It pared its weekly gain to 0.8 percent.
“There is support around $1.1800 level which will likely limit the euro’s downside,” said Yutaka Miura, a senior technical analyst at Mizuho Securities.
“This time of year, though, ahead of the holidays, many market participants are away and liquidity is thin, so we need to watch cautiously,” he added.
The dollar index, which measures the U.S. currency against a basket of six major rivals, was up 0.1 percent at 93.400 .DXY. For the week, it was down 0.6 percent.
Speaking after the BOJ held interest rates steady as widely expected, Kuroda said his earlier reference to a “reversal rate” did not indicate a change in his thinking on monetary policy.
Volatile cryptocurrency bitcoin momentarily tumbled below $14,000 on the Bitstamp exchange BTC=BTSP on Friday, down roughly 30 percent from its record top near $20,000 set at the week’s start.
It was last down 5.6 percent at $14,720 BTC=BTSP.
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