Sterling surges as May secures Brexit assurances, yen dips

[webfact]

Sterling surges as May secures Brexit assurances, yen dips

By Daniel Leussink

 

Pound Sterling notes and change are seen inside a cash resgister in a coffee shop in Manchester, Britain, Septem,ber 21, 2018. REUTERS/Phil Noble/File Photo

 

TOKYO (Reuters) - Sterling rose sharply on Tuesday as speculation swirled that British Prime Minister Theresa May might be closer to securing approval for her Brexit deal.

 

The pound extended earlier gains as May won legally binding Brexit assurances from the European Union, in a last ditch attempt to sway rebellious British lawmakers who have threatened to vote down her divorce deal in a parliamentary vote on Tuesday.

 

Sterling, jumped as high as $1.3290 as some investors bolstered bet the prime minister could secure a divorce deal before Britain's scheduled March 29 departure from the EU.

 

The pound was last trading 0.6 percent higher on the day at $1.3223, having been as low as $1.2945 at one stage on Monday.

 

The euro slid to its lowest on the pound since mid-2017 at 84.71 pence. It was last quoted down about 0.4 percent on the day at 85.15 pence.

 

At a joint news conference with European Commission head Jean-Claude Juncker late on Monday, May announced three documents aimed at addressing the most contentious part of the exit deal she agreed in November - the Irish backstop.

 

"Seeing them together in the same screen, is a positive - that there is some hand holding there and working together to move forward," said Bart Wakabayashi, Tokyo branch manager at State Street Bank.

 

The Irish backstop is an insurance policy aimed at avoiding controls on the sensitive border between the British province of Northern Ireland and EU member Ireland.

 

"If they can break (the backstop) down to a level where there can be some negotiation or at least compromise on both sides, there definitely does seem (to be) light at the end of the tunnel," added Wakabayashi.

 

If May loses the vote on Tuesday, she has said lawmakers will get a vote on Wednesday on whether to leave without a deal and, if they reject that, then a vote on whether to ask for a limited delay to Brexit.

 

Most other currencies stayed within familiar trading ranges before U.S. February inflation figures expected later on Tuesday.

 

The dollar index, which measures the greenback against a basket of six rivals, fell almost 0.2 percent to 97.063 on a modest improvement in investors' risk appetite.

 

Against the Japanese yen, a safe-haven currency often bought in times of rising volatility, the dollar was 0.2 percent higher at 111.43 yen.

 

Data on Monday showed U.S. retail sales rose modestly in January, lifted by an increase in purchases of building materials and discretionary spending, but a drop in December was even larger than initially thought.

 

The euro found support against the dollar on the Brexit news and the improvement in risk appetite. The single currency was last up about 0.15 percent at $1.1259.

 

(Graphic: World FX rates in 2019 - http://tmsnrt.rs/2egbfVh) 

 

(Editing by Kim Coghill)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2019-03-12

[SheungWan]

So then, Hard Brexiteers must be more than happy when they go to change their money at TT Exchange today. ????

[Cryingdick]

Enjoy the sugar high

[evadgib]

28 minutes ago, SheungWan said:

So then, Hard Brexiteers must be more than happy when they go to change their money at TT Exchange today. ????

They'll be coming for you if you keep on..

[BritManToo]

1 hour ago, SheungWan said:

So then, Hard Brexiteers must be more than happy when they go to change their money at TT Exchange today. ????

41.85, not much of a surge, but I changed 1,000 pounds just in case May cocks it up.

[LucysDad]

2 minutes ago, BritManToo said:

41.85, not much of a surge, but I changed 1,000 pounds just in case May cocks it up.

 

 

Pound cost averaging.................................... never a bad tactic.

[sanemax]

3 minutes ago, BritManToo said:

41.85, not much of a surge, but I changed 1,000 pounds just in case May cocks it up.

Could be back up to 50 next week , up to you though

[dick dasterdly]

16 minutes ago, BritManToo said:

41.85, not much of a surge, but I changed 1,000 pounds just in case May cocks it up.

I think it doesn't really matter?

 

If May (understandably) loses this vote, the next vote will be to stop a no deal brexit - which will surely win as only a tiny minority of MPs support no deal - and the money markets know this?

 

Then we have the 'extension' vote......

[RichardColeman]

And it will plummet again end of the week when the idiots MP continue their bickering to try and overthrow the will of the electorate

[Baerboxer]

1 hour ago, sanemax said:

Could be back up to 50 next week , up to you though

 

Yep and Fulham might win the Premiership; pigs might fly and Corbyn might make a good PM!

[Baerboxer]

50 minutes ago, dick dasterdly said:

I think it doesn't really matter?

 

If May (understandably) loses this vote, the next vote will be to stop a no deal brexit - which will surely win as only a tiny minority of MPs support no deal - and the money markets know this?

 

Then we have the 'extension' vote......

 

Jackanory, jackanory! Or is this the Never Ending Story?

[LucysDad]

 

 

GBP/EUR    1.1730

 

 

A little further away from Project Fear's "parity".

[sanemax]

4 minutes ago, Baerboxer said:

 

Yep and Fulham might win the Premiership; pigs might fly and Corbyn might make a good PM!

Its the uncertainty that has caused the Pound to devalue , once we get everything sorted out , when we leave the E.U and then can sign trade deals with the rest of the world, the Pound will surge

[Huayrat]

Fake News.. The pound was the same level 1 week ago.

[Cobby]

No deal no deal no deal 

is best for the uk 

as soon as we are out 

watch how fast the other countries 

pull out Europe is doomed and broke 

it will collapse very soon we are better on the outside looking at the euros fall 

[dunroaming]

2 hours ago, sanemax said:

Could be back up to 50 next week , up to you though

It is obvious that the pound will strengthen if there is a deal and weaken if Britain leaves with no deal.  There will be fluctuation until it becomes clear how the market will react.  But it is not just the strength of the pound that dictates as it is countered by the strength of Baht.  It may surge against the Euro or US dollar when there is little movement against less vulnerable currencies.

[Laughing Gravy]

One of the saddest things with the threads on Brexit is those from the UK who actually want to the UK go into some sort of financial meltdown and economic recession.

 

IMHO those should have their passports taken away and sent to to the isle of Man to serve the rest of their lives in exile. ????

 

So sorry to those from the Isle of Man.????????

[sanemax]

1 hour ago, Huayrat said:

Fake News.. The pound was the same level 1 week ago.

They did mean within the last 24 hours , so, NOT fake news

[Greenhill]

2 hours ago, sanemax said:

Its the uncertainty that has caused the Pound to devalue , once we get everything sorted out , when we leave the E.U and then can sign trade deals with the rest of the world, the Pound will surge

Hopefully, we'll all live long enough to see it!!

[dunroaming]

13 minutes ago, Laughing Gravy said:

One of the saddest things with the threads on Brexit is those from the UK who actually want to the UK go into some sort of financial meltdown and economic recession.

 

IMHO those should have their passports taken away and sent to to the isle of Man to serve the rest of their lives in exile. ????

 

So sorry to those from the Isle of Man.????????

I assume you are referring to those who want a no-deal Brexit.  That would certainly trigger an economic recession!  ????

[sanemax]

2 minutes ago, Laughing Gravy said:

One of the saddest things with the threads on Brexit is those from the UK who actually want to the UK go into some sort of financial meltdown and economic recession.

 

 

Its because they lost the vote , they didnt get what they want and they will view it as a victory for themselves , if theres mass unemployment and financial ruin in the UK .

   When they are passing spoonies , they can poke their head around  the door and and tell all the newly unemployed tattooed dole scroungers , that its their own fault for voting Brexit .

  And they are hoping for financial meltdown and a recession...................just to prove themselves right and to gloat at the leavers.

[Grouse]

5 hours ago, SheungWan said:

So then, Hard Brexiteers must be more than happy when they go to change their money at TT Exchange today. ????

Have Reuters lost the plot?

 

If GBP is surging, the markets think there's a good chance of no Brexit. Maybe they think May's pig deal will get through?

[sanemax]

7 minutes ago, Greenhill said:

Hopefully, we'll all live long enough to see it!!

As most of us have cut down on our drinking , we will all probably live a bit longer now

[sammieuk1]

I see surge is not the same as falling off a cliff in reverse ????

[mrfill]

6 hours ago, SheungWan said:

So then, Hard Brexiteers must be more than happy when they go to change their money at TT Exchange today. ????

Yes, they must be delighted to be getting 41.76 to the pound, especially as only 2 years ago they were getting 49.28. Only 15% worse - a stunning benefit....

[SheungWan]

22 minutes ago, Grouse said:

Have Reuters lost the plot?

If GBP is surging, the markets think there's a good chance of no Brexit. Maybe they think May's pig deal will get through?

They think she will do better and lessen the pressure. At the very least they are expecting deadline to be delayed.

[joecoolfrog]

49 minutes ago, Laughing Gravy said:

One of the saddest things with the threads on Brexit is those from the UK who actually want to the UK go into some sort of financial meltdown and economic recession.

 

IMHO those should have their passports taken away and sent to to the isle of Man to serve the rest of their lives in exile. ????

 

So sorry to those from the Isle of Man.????????

You do realise you have just outlined the consequencies of a 'hard ' Brexit.

[soalbundy]

3 hours ago, LucysDad said:

 

 

GBP/EUR    1.1730

 

 

A little further away from Project Fear's "parity".

Meanwhile back at reality ranch UK businesses have transferred 900 billion pounds to Europe along with thousands of jobs.

[dunroaming]

35 minutes ago, sanemax said:

Its because they lost the vote , they didnt get what they want and they will view it as a victory for themselves , if theres mass unemployment and financial ruin in the UK .

   When they are passing spoonies , they can poke their head around  the door and and tell all the newly unemployed tattooed dole scroungers , that its their own fault for voting Brexit .

  And they are hoping for financial meltdown and a recession...................just to prove themselves right and to gloat at the leavers.

Steady there Max!  You seem to implying that Brexit voters are "tattooed dole scroungers". ????

 

Also that the remainers are masochists who want the trauma of financial meltdown and a recession.  Bit of a stretch, even for you! ????

[Grouse]

9 minutes ago, SheungWan said:

They think she will do better and lessen the pressure. At the very least they are expecting deadline to be delayed.

Serious question. I have to purchase a piece of test equipment from UK. It's a thousand quid. Do I do the transaction right now or wait until tomorrow?