The euro backed off from its highs on Monday, as forex investors took profit following centrist Emmanuel Macron's victory in France's presidential election. Traders booked their profits on around 3 percent gains for the single currency since he won the first round two weeks ago.
Opinion polls had Macron consistently up around 20 percentage points or more, and his victory on Sunday was widely expected. In early Asian trading EUR/USD rose to 1.1024, its highest since Nov. 9. EUR/JPY also jumped to a one-year high of 124.58, and EUR/CHF to a five-month peak of 1.0886.
By the day's close, the single currency fell to 1.0914 against the greenback, and below 123 versus the yen.
The removal of the political risk investors had associated with Le Pen – who had promised to take France out of the euro – leaves them refocusing on economic fundamentals and the relative pace of monetary policy normalization in Europe and the United States.
Friday's U.S. employment data showed the jobs market was solid and yield spreads continue to back the dollar over the euro. But traders are also steadily more confident about the prospect of the European Central Bank at some point moving away from its bond-buying stimulus program.
