TOKYO (AFX-ASIA) - The euro was lower in midmorning trade after first round president elections in France on the weekend saw the extreme right-wing candidate move into the second round at the expense of Socialist Prime Minister Lionel Jospin, the one-time front-runner, dealers said. Far-right nationalist Jean-Marie Le Pen came in second to incumbent Jacques Chirac, eliminating Jospin from the race, according to partial results. "The French elections are not good for the euro. The rise of the extreme right is not good," said Minori Takeuchi, forex analyst at the Tokyo branch of JP Morgan Chase. Takeuchi said the percentage gains in the first round of voting will not necessarily feed through to the next round but "this is definitely something people are talking about." With more than 90 pct of all votes counted, the interior ministry said Chirac had won 19.64 pct, ahead of Le Pen with 17.07 pct and 16.01 pct for Jospin. Meanwhile, the dollar/yen continued to trade around recent levels, with the dollar pressured on the upside by a combination of selling interest by exporters, uncertainty over a strong US recovery and higher Japanese equities. "Investors ... are not very sure about US economic prospects. Although they believe the US is leading the global economy, the economic data was not as good as people expected," Takeuchi said. "Japanese newspapers are saying some exporters are selling the dollar ahead of the Golden Week holiday because they are afraid the dollar will go much lower," she said, adding that the authorities will likely try to hold the 130 yen. "People believe foreigners are underweight Japanese stocks and ... as there are no other markets that investors can buy, there is some perception that foreigners will buy (Japanese) stocks," Takeuchi added. The G7 meeting on the weekend appeared not to touch on currency rates, while this morning's stronger-than-expected Japanese trade surplus data had little immediate impact on the market. "The trade data was surprising; much bigger than the market expectated but it looks like the main reason is (declining) imports. We are expecting a recovery in exports. Maybe this is a one month aberration," Takeuchi said.