Euro dips after Catalan separatists secure narrow victory

Blow for PM Rajoy

Tom Eckett
clock • 2 min read

The euro fell in overnight trading after pro-independence parties gained an absolute majority in the regional Catalan elections, dealing a blow to Madrid and Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy.

The three pro-independence parties won 70 seats out of a possible 135, ahead of the 68 required to form a government. Opinion polls had predicted the separatists would fall short of a majority. However, Ciudadanos, the anti-independence party, won the majority of the vote to become the largest party, while pro-independence parties only won 48% of the vote. Carles Puigdemont, the former Catalan leader, who is currently based in Brussels amid fears of his arrest after the independence push in October, said: "The Spanish state has been defeated. Rajoy has received a slap in the face from...

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