For a brief moment, the EUR/USD edged above the $1.08, the first such occurrence in six weeks. That rise came shortly after the televised French presidential debate which suggested a win for Emmanuel Macron, a centrist, over Marine Le Pen, the far-right candidate. The lead in the debate for Macron is giving investors some hope that he could win the election in France and helping to suppress fears that a win for Le Pen would take France out of the European Monetary Union.
As reported at 9:51 am (GMT) in London, the EUR/USD was trading at $1.0794, a gain of 0.54%; the pair’s high was set at $1.084 while the low was at $1.0720 in the session. The EUR/GBP was trading at 0.8668 Pence, down 0.23% and just off the session low of 0.8665 Pence.
Pound Sterling Lifted After Upbeat Data
The Pound Sterling is getting a lift on the news that personal inflation exceeded expectations, coming in at 2.3% against the forecast of a rise to 2.1%. February’s core personal inflation, which strips out volatile components such as food and energy prices, also was higher than expected at 2.0% against forecasts of a rise to 1.8%. Other economic data releases included February’s retail price index which was also unexpectedly higher at 3.2% and Public Sector Net Borrowing which hit £1.1 billion in February, beating analysts’ expectations. The GBP/USD was trading at $1.2464, a gain of 0.84%.