The Euro is once again under pressure as political uncertainties surrounding the looming French presidential election impact investors’ sentiment. Over the past few weeks, and especially in the wake of the UK’s Brexit vote and the US presidential election, markets have been concerned over the possibility of a surprise outcome in France. That has been evidenced by the growing gap between French and German treasury instruments; investors are demanding a higher premium to hold French treasuries as opposed to German bunds, reaching the highest price in more than four years.
As reported at 11:15 pm (JST) in Tokyo, the EUR/USD was trading at $1.0583, down 0.28%, and just off the pair’s daily low. The EUR/GBP was down 0.19% to trade at 0.8501 Pence. Meanwhile, the EUR/JPY was trading at 120.1651 Yen, up 0.05%.
Greek Debt in Focus
Greek debt is also recently back in the picture as there is growing optimism that the debt-laden country may be able to avoid another crisis. Finance ministers in the Eurozone have agreed to resume bailout negotiations in the hope of working out new reforms which could, ultimately, allow the government to qualify for loans at lower interest rates.