The euro edged lower, catching its breath after a relief rally sparked by the first round results of the French election. The euro slipped 0.1% to $1.0860, off from Monday’s peak of around $1.0940, euro’s highest level since November 10; this is accompanied by the victory of the Centrist Emmanuel Macron, who won the first round of the French presidential elections.
Polls show Macron winning over Marine Le Pen, in the runoff vote which is due to take place next month. In accordance to this event, the euro is likely to show flexibility given the low chances of Le Pen coming out victorious on the second round vote on May 7.
However, Singapore’s Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation senior global markets analyst: Satoshi Okagawa said, that the near term gains will be limited in the wake of the common currency’s short-covering rally.
“It will be hard to aggressively buy the euro to levels above $1.10” Okagawa added.
On the other hand, the Canadian dollar fell on news of United States duties on Canadian softwood lumber. The Canadian dollar fell 0.4% in early Asian trade after the United States Commerce Secretary: Wilbur Ross said his agency will impose new anti-subsidy duties averaging 20% on the Canadian softwood lumber imports.
The Canadian dollar slipped to C$1.3559 per U.S. dollar at one point, Canadian dollars’ lowest level since December when it sank to C$1.3598. The greenback edged up 0.1% to 109.89 yen, but remained below Monday’s high of 110.64 yen, its strongest level since April 11.