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What’s been happening?

The euro was Monday’s currency winner, recording (and holding) notable gains against the majors thanks to the outcome of Sunday’s first round of voting in the French election.

With one of the anti-EU candidates, left-wing Jean-Luc Melenchon, out of the running, the odds of a ‘Frexit’ were reduced, and demand for the common currency surged.

Although far-right Marine Le Pen made it through to the second round, recent polls see her commanding just over 30% of the final vote – with centrist Emmanuel Macron taking more than 60%.

In a surprising move, Le Pen has temporarily stepped down as leader of the National Front in hopes that campaigning ‘above partisan considerations’ will encourage supporters of the defeated candidates to back her when it’s time to return to the polls.

While the pound fell by over 1% against a rallying euro, the British currency was able to claw back some of its losses against the US dollar as Federal Reserve rate hike expectations remain deflated following President Donald Trump’s recent comments about preferring a low interest rate policy.

The only UK data of the day revealed that the post-referendum depreciation in the pound meant that factories experienced the best three month period for exports for more than six years between February and April. Less positively, plans for investment have fallen dramatically in response to continued uncertainty about the UK’s future trading relationship with the EU.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]

Euro holding election gains, pound recovers losses against US dollar

The euro started the week strongly, but the same couldn’t be said for the pound. After spending most of last week holding multi-month highs, Sterling dropped against the euro and put on a mixed performance against several of the other major currencies.

GBP/EUR brushed a low of €1.1771 and closed the day at €1.1757, GBP/USD fell to $1.2775 before bouncing back above $1.28, GBP/AUD fluctuated between AU$1.6885 and AU$1.6993 while GBP/NZD managed to climb from NZ$1.8185 to NZ$1.8408.

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* Information courtesy of  Phil McHugh, Trading Floor Manager, Currencies Direct
The contents of this report are for information purposes only. It is not intended as a recommendation to trade or a solicitation for funds. Currencies Direct cannot be held responsible for any loss or damages arising from any action taken following consideration of this information. This article was written by Currencies Direct.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]