AfD Climbs In The Polls Ahead Of German Elections

The euro remained above $1.35 ahead of the weekend after its spike following the announcement that the US Federal Reserve wasn't going to start tapering its stimulus spending just yet. The common currency traded at $1.3529 at 7:00 GMT on Friday morning. The eurozone has posted mostly positive data recently, adding to evidence that the region's recovery is gaining momentum. However, several issues still stand in the way of the bloc's return to stability. Related: Market Primer: Friday, September 20: US Markets Fall As Investors Re-EvaluateMost are focused on German general elections, which are set to take place on Sunday. Current Chancellor Angela Merkel is favored to return to power; however her coalition government may struggle to beat out the opposition. The radical Alternative For Germany party (AfD) made waves after the Wall Street Journal reported that Thursday's polls showed it had hit the 5 percent threshold needed to obtain a seat in parliament. Merkel's Christian Democratic Union has already rejected the idea of a coalition with the party due to its anti-euro stance. The AfD has called for Greece to be thrown out of the eurozone and a ban on future bailouts. Polls showed that Merkel's Christian Democratic party was at 38 percent and her Free Democratic partner gained support and hit 6 percent. Merkel's opposition, Peer Steinbrueck and his Social Democratic party climbed to 28 percent in the polls, but the Green party, one of his allies, fell three percent in the most recent polls. As the polls stand now, Steinbrueck's only chance to win the race is to form a coalition with the anti-capitalist Left party which has risen to 9 percent. Despite that, Steinbrueck has said he won't partner with the Left party as he disagrees with the party's views on foreign policies.