The euro fell to its lowest in a month after French President Emmanuel Macron called a snap vote in the wake of European Parliament elections.
Asian currencies declined on the heels of a strong US jobs report from Friday. The common currency dropped as much as 0.5%, retreating alongside European equity futures and French bonds.
Gains for the far-right in the European Union-wide vote — in line with expectations — led Macron to call a snap legislative ballot for his country in a bid to stop the rise of his rival Marine Le Pen.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s Social Democrats suffered a record rout, though futures on the country’s 10-year debt were little changed after rallying back from a tumble in early trading.
“The EU is facing a historically challenging time with both internal and external ‘cracking’ in systemic issues that require increased – not decreased – cooperation,” according to a Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB note to clients. “Difficult negotiations now await” for heads of state and government. Apart from European politics, it was a rethink on Federal Reserve interest-rate cuts and eased concern about an economic slowdown following last week’s solid US jobs report that shaped trading on Monday.
