2017.02.2000:25:00UTC+00Euro Struggles to Retain Footing as French Political Concerns Mount

The euro struggled to regain traction versus the U.S. dollar and the Japanese yen on Monday after the currency saw sharp losses and the end of the previous week on renewed concerns regarding the looming French elections.

The already jittery markets were shock after two French hard-left contenders for the presidential post stated they were in talks to work together for their bid for the country's top government post.

The euro was up 0.1 percent at 1.0619 after it slid 0.6 percent on Friday. It ticked up 0.15 percent to 119.935 yen after hitting an 11-day trough of 119.650 yen. It had weakened almost one percent on Friday versus the Japanese currency.

The latest surge of risk-averted sentiment that boosted the safe-haven yen is seen to be an infrequent one, as equities continue to be on a firm footing globally, analysts said. They noted that the jump was not the typical 'risk-off' stance that affects the majority of financial markets and results in a flight-to-safety move to secure the perceived haven currency.

Meanwhile the pound added 0.2 percent and exchanged hands at $1.2431, a modest rise compared to the 0.7 percent decline on Friday after a disappointing U.K. retail data.