Reuters: Euro jumps 2 percent as Macron-Le Pen set to contest French runoff

The euro jumped to its highest since mid-November in early trading on Sunday, after early projections indicated that centrist Emmanuel Macron and far-right Marine Le Pen had made it to the second round of the French presidential election.

Markets had been worried that the far-left, eurosceptic Jean-Luc Melenchon, who had surged in the polls in recent weeks, could jump ahead of Macron to make it into the final runoff against Le Pen, giving voters a choice between two radical candidates who would threaten the future of the EU.

As investors breathed a collective sigh of relief, the euro soared 2 percent to $1.09395 EUR=, its highest level since Nov. 10, the day after the results of the U.S. presidential election, as some markets opened in Asia.

Against the yen, which investors tend to flock to when they perceive high levels of risk, the euro jumped as much as 3 percent to trade at a five-week high of 120.905 yen EURJPY=EBS.

The yen fell more than 1 percent against the dollar JPY.

Against sterling, the euro rose 1.4 percent to 85.005 pence EURGBP=D3.

Read more http://www.reuters.com