Anna Golubova  Sunday May 07, 2017 19:00

Gold prices held at seven-week lows after Emmanuel Macron was elected president of France on Sunday, defeating far-right candidate Marine Le Pen in the second round and bringing relief to the market.

Spot gold on Kitco.com was trading at $1,226.90 during the opening hours of the Asian session on Monday, holding largely steady as the results were announced.

Pro-Europe, market-friendly Macron won with 65.31% of valid votes cast so far, official figures from the French Interior Ministry confirmed on Sunday. The results calmed market fears of Le Pen’s threats to take France out of the European Union.

Macron’s win puts a 35-percentage-point gap between him and Le Pen, beating a previously estimated 20-percentage-point lead projection.

“I know the divisions in our nation, which have led some to vote for the extremes. I respect them,” Macron said as he addressed the public at his campaign headquarters. “I know the anger, the anxiety, the doubts that very many of you have also expressed. It's my responsibility to hear them. I will work to recreate the link between Europe and its peoples, between Europe and citizens.”

The next step for Macron will be to secure a majority in June’s parliamentary election for En Marche! (Onwards!), his new political movement that is not even a year old yet.

With the French election results largely matching market expectations, the focus will now shift to the U.S.monetary policy, BNP Paribas said in note to clients.

Latest positive U.S. macro data are offering additional support for a June rate hike, with market expectations rising.

“The strong April employment report, with strong job gains and the unemployment rate falling to 4.4%, followed an FOMC meeting that emphasized the importance of the labor market in their deliberations. A June hike is now much more likely. By contrast, we think the final outcomes on health care, spending, and taxes, remain far less clear,” Nomura Global Research said in a note.