Pound Sterling (GBP) Slides on ‘Accidental’ No-Deal Brexit Warning
The Pound (GBP) fell back against the majority of its peers at the end of last week’s session, facing fresh downward pressure as the EU’s chief negotiator, Michel Barnier suggested there is a high chance of an ‘accidental’ no deal Brexit.
While Barnier said he also thought that there was still ‘a chance’ of a deal being finalised, the damage had already been done, leaving Sterling to limp over the finishing line.
Looking to the week ahead, the focus for GBP investors will be an upcoming parliamentary debate on Brexit, with the Pound likely to only see limited movement in the run up to Wednesday’s vote.
GBP/EUR Exchange Rate Softens Despite Slump in German Confidence
The Pound Euro (GBP/EUR) exchange rate was left on the defensive on Friday, despite the release of some gloomy business confidence figures from Germany.
The Ifo business climate index revealed that confidence amongst German firms fell to its weakest levels since 2014 in January, with businesses fearing that the country’s economic downturn will continue well into 2019.
This week will see the release of the business confidence figures for the whole of the Eurozone, potentially dampening demand for the Euro if sentiment continued to slide this month.
GBP/USD Exchange Rate Mixed on Bostic Comments
After initially dipping on Friday, the Pound US Dollar (GBP/USD) exchange rate closed the session in a neutral range following comments by Atlanta Federal Reserve President Raphael Bostic.
Speaking in the US, Bostic suggested that there were still ‘clouding’ factors affecting the policy outlook for the Fed, pointing to global trade and Brexit uncertainty as the main concerns for the FOMC going forward.
Coming up this week will be Jerome Powell’s testimony in front of Congress, during which USD investors will be hoping that the Fed Chair will offer some more insight into the bank’s policy outlook for 2019.
GBP/CAD Exchange Rate Slumps as Canadian Retail Sales Beat Expectations
The Pound Canadian Dollar (GBP/CAD) exchange rate fell over half a cent on Friday as the ‘Loonie’ was boosted by both rising oil prices and the release of Canada’s latest retail sales figures, with sales growth contracting at a slower pace than expected in December.