020 7898 0500Over the weekend we saw the euro strengthen and jump to a five-month high as centrist Emmanuel Macron topped the voting in the first round of the French Presidential election. In second place was the far-right candidate Marine Le Pen, who will contest the final round on 7 May 2017. The markets have priced in a Macron win.
The German IFO (a survey of 7,000 businesses) was released yesterday. The figure hit a six-year high, suggesting that German businesses are optimistic about the next six months and it’s therefore seen as a good barometer of confidence.
It was quiet yesterday in terms of economic data and, because of next week’s May Day bank holiday, the European Central Bank meeting has been brought forward to Thursday. While no change is expected, the rhetoric will be observed by market participants to try and second-guess monetary policy changes. In addition, we have German retail sales, Eurozone inflation and Spanish unemployment data set for release.
