French President Emmanuel Macron’s decision to call early national legislative elections took everyone by surprise. Markets were entirely caught off guard. Not a single analyst or commentator had raised an early French legislative election as being a serious possibility. Investors reacted to the news predictably – they dumped French assets. French bonds sold off and markets once again focussed on OAT-Bund spreads, which widened following the announcement (OATs are French bonds and Bunds are German ones). If you cast your mind back by around 12 years, you’ll remember that markets were transfixed with these yield spread developments – in particular…

Want to continue reading?

Join today with an Annual membership and get full access to The Currency for just €200 (68c per day) or try monthly membership for just €5 for your first month.

Subscribe

Cancel at any time.

Are you already a member? .