British Pound

When Brexit-related uncertainty was at its peak towards the end of last year and in early parts of 2019, the GBP/USD and other pound crosses fell sharply across the board. Yet, since the turn of the year, the GBP/USD has actually been pushing higher despite the bears throwing the kitchen sink at the beleaguered currency.

The British pound was the weakest major currency yesterday on the back of reports that there was no agreement on a customs union between Labour and Conservatives. It fell further this morning in reaction to the latest consumer inflation data.

The Brexit merry-go-round continues to turn, with today’s news highlighted by the potential for a “flextension” to Brexit negotiations...

Over 1,000 days after the UK narrowly voted to leave the European Union, it’s still not remotely clear how the new relationship will look, who is in charge…and even whether the UK will leave at all!

The GBP/USD and the other pound crosses are understandably very sensitive to Brexit-related headlines given that we are fast approaching the March 29 exit date.

It was another volatile session for GBP after MP’s rejected a no-deal Brexit, sending the pound broadly higher and reversing prior losses.

Just hours ago, my colleague Fawad Razaqzada noted that “it was not clear whether any real progress was made by Britain and the European Union in reaching an accord.” While there haven’t been any official statements, much less votes, the EU’s latest offer has reportedly been called a “non-starter” by the DUP and not enough of a change from the previously rejected offers.

As my colleague Fawad Razaqzada noted earlier this morning, markets were relatively dull heading into the day’s marquee event, the release of UK PM Theresa May’s “Plan B” Brexit bill. Unfortunately, the “new” proposal did little to shake things up.

Much like a rollercoaster ride, this week’s Brexit developments have been full of twists and turns…but have ultimately taken us right back to where we started the week. PM May’s Brexit deal was roundly rejected on Tuesday, but the Prime Minister subsequently won Wednesday’s no confidence vote. As we head into this weekend, May is once again headed to Brussels to try to forge an agreement that will be acceptable to both the EU and Parliament.

Theresa May suffered a landslide Brexit defeat. Opposition leader Jeremy Corbyn tabled a vote of no confidence tomorrow. The pound rebounded from initial losses as traders are seeing the defeat as paving the way for an extension to Article 50 rather than the start of a no deal Brexit.

Next week’s major market risk event is most likely to be the UK parliament’s so-called “meaningful vote” on the withdrawal agreement Prime Minister Theresa May negotiated with the European Union at the back end of last year.

The debate over Theresa May’s Brexit deal is careening toward a dramatic conclusion ahead of the scheduled Parliamentary vote on Tuesday.

Another week, another round of Brexit speeches from UK PM Theresa May....

Over the last couple of days, we’ve covered the drama surrounding the vote on Theresa May’s Brexit bill, from last week’s resignation threats, to rumors of its cancellation, to confirmation of its cancellation. With May presently in Brussels negotiating with EU policymakers, the postponed “meaningful vote” is now slated to be held in the New Year, sometime before January 21.

As we hinted both last week and earlier today, the Parliamentary vote on Theresa May’s Brexit plan has been on its last legs for a while now. In a speech at the House of Commons, the Prime Minister delivered the coup de grâce this afternoon, cancelling tomorrow’s vote and vowing to return to Brussels to renegotiate the controversial Irish border backstop.

Next week is unquestionably one of the most exciting times you will see in the markets particularly for the GBP/USD and pound crosses as we will have the all-important UK parliamentary vote on the Brexit deal coming up.

According to a report from The Guardian, PM Theresa May could see more government resignations ahead of Tuesday’s Parliamentary vote on her Brexit deal if the Irish backstop is not amended.

As anticipated Monday, we’ve already spilled plenty of digital ink on this week’s Brexit developments (see here, here, and here for examples), but the hits just keep coming!

Just as we hit “publish” on last week’s GBP/USD update, traders’ tone toward the pair started to sour. The proximate catalyst for the reversal was a disappointing GDP report, but more broadly, the continued uncertainty surrounding a satisfying Brexit agreement is weighing on sterling bulls.