XE Market Analysis: Europe – Dec 13, 2017

USD-JPY took a 30-pip clobber on news that Democrat Doug Jones won the election for an Alabama senate seat, the first time there’s been a Democratic Senate member from that state since 1992. The market narrative is that this will erode the chances for corporate-friendly legislation in the U.S., with the Republican advantage in the Senate ebbing to 51 to 49 from 52 to 48 (aside from the fact that the election result bods badly for the GOP in the mid-term elections in November 2018)) .