Though it could not maintain momentum, the Pound Sterling had earlier inched higher against the US Dollar as FX traders' expectations of a softer Brexit outcome continue to coalesce. The UK Parliament is poised to begin to vote on a number of options related to the withdrawal from the EU, none of them with the outcome that the Prime Minister had hoped for now that her proposal has been quashed for a third time. Analysts say that the expectations now are for a much lengthier process where, in the end, ties to the EU trading bloc will still be maintained in some fashion, with less negative impact on trade.
As reported at 11:33 am (GMT) in London, the GBP/USD was trading at $1.3035, down 0.0873%; the pair is moving off the earlier peak of $1.3105, while the session trough was recorded at $1.3010. The EUR/GBP was trading at 0.8599 Pence, up 0.02%; the pair has ranged from a low of 0.85756 Pence to a peak of 0.86268 Pence.
PMI Offers Brief Respite to Sterling
News that the UK's manufacturing sector reading was significantly higher than expected briefly helped to lift Sterling. According to Markit, the survey for March came in at 55.1, well above the experts' forecast of 51.0, while the previous reading was revised higher. In the Eurozone, it was reported that the preliminary reading of personal inflation (year-over-year) for March fell to 1.4%, and 0.8% for core inflation, below expectations of 1.5% and 0.9%. The EUR/USD was trading flat at $1.2210 after the news.