AFP, London :
The pound retreated Thursday awaiting yet another Brexit vote, after the UK currency struck multi-month highs versus the dollar and euro thanks to British MPs ruling out a no-deal departure from the European Union.
London’s benchmark FTSE 100 index climbed, boosted by softness in the pound which typically helps lift share prices of multinationals.
“The pound has pulled away from its multi-month highs against the dollar and euro reached yesterday after the UK parliament voted against leaving the EU without a deal,” said Dean Popplewell, analyst at Oanda trading group.
Attention nows turns to Thursday’s vote by British MPs on whether to ask the EU to approve a Brexit delay.
Recent turns in the “Brexit merry-go-round”, as XTB chief market analyst David Cheetham called it, seemed to give rise to some cautious optimism about sterling’s future trajectory.
“The pound will likely remain highly sensitive to headline risk in the foreseeable future but with the range of outcomes now seemingly ranging from May’s deal to increasingly softer versions of Brexit, a lot of the worst downside risks are being priced out the currency and this may pave the way for further gains,” Cheetham said.
Market focus was also on China, with Shanghai’s stock market closing down 1.2 percent after figures showed the country’s factory output grew slower than forecast in the first two months of the year.
The pound retreated Thursday awaiting yet another Brexit vote, after the UK currency struck multi-month highs versus the dollar and euro thanks to British MPs ruling out a no-deal departure from the European Union.
London’s benchmark FTSE 100 index climbed, boosted by softness in the pound which typically helps lift share prices of multinationals.
“The pound has pulled away from its multi-month highs against the dollar and euro reached yesterday after the UK parliament voted against leaving the EU without a deal,” said Dean Popplewell, analyst at Oanda trading group.
Attention nows turns to Thursday’s vote by British MPs on whether to ask the EU to approve a Brexit delay.
Recent turns in the “Brexit merry-go-round”, as XTB chief market analyst David Cheetham called it, seemed to give rise to some cautious optimism about sterling’s future trajectory.
“The pound will likely remain highly sensitive to headline risk in the foreseeable future but with the range of outcomes now seemingly ranging from May’s deal to increasingly softer versions of Brexit, a lot of the worst downside risks are being priced out the currency and this may pave the way for further gains,” Cheetham said.
Market focus was also on China, with Shanghai’s stock market closing down 1.2 percent after figures showed the country’s factory output grew slower than forecast in the first two months of the year.
