Euro has risen considerably against the dollar to begin the new week on a positive trend following the news of Macron’s victory in the first poll of the French elections. The incumbent president – Emmanuel Macron had amassed the highest vote in the first-round voting in the French presidential election.
The French citizens had turned out en masse yesterday to choose out of the twelve candidates that participated in the second round of the election yesterday. The leading three candidates after the elections were: the incumbent president Emmanuel Macron from the republican party, the nationalist rival Marine Le Pen, and Far-left leader Jean-Luc Melenchon.
Macron got the highest vote with over 29% of the total vote cast. The outspoken nationalist contestant Le Pen was second and closer with about 25%. Melenchon was third with around 20%.
Following the French system of elections, a final and decisive round of the election will be conducted between the two leading candidates as Macron and Le Pen on Sunday, April 24 to decide the final winner of the presidential seat.
The outcome of this final election no doubt bears a lot of influence on the forex market as Victory for Macron means more strength for Euro. Hence EUR/USD had risen by 0.20% during the Asian session today to settle at $1.0957 before the current retracement that brought it back to last week’s close at $1.08850.
Many political observers fear that Macron’s victory is not assured this time. There exists a strong possibility for Le Pen to win the elections, given her records with Macron. This can only happen if she succeeds in amassing the support of other parties put together to support her against the incumbent president.
Aside from the just-concluded second round of elections yesterday, other factors weigh on the Euro currency this week, such as the ECB meetings in Europe on Thursday. During this meeting, the ECB is expected to give its current stance on Inflation and interest rates hikes. Also, they are to address the consumer’s rising prices index emanating from displacements due to the Ukraine wars. Of course, they to give precise details on how they intend to wind down on assets purchase.
