French woes fuel contagion

THE euro could face further pressure in the weeks ahead as rising French borrowing costs threaten to spill into the wider eurozone, adding another headache for policymakers already grappling with higher energy-driven inflation and weak growth.

The single currency has already fallen to a 17-month low against several major currencies, and investors are increasingly watching whether political and fiscal concerns in France could turn into a broader European bond-market problem, according to a recent analysis by Reuters.