The Brexit party emerged victorious from the UK’s European elections, with the Conservative and Labour parties bearing heavy losses. With the votes in the process of being counted, the Conservatives are expected to secure less than 10 percent of the vote.
Nigel Farage, leader of the Brexit Party, told the BBC that “we’ve been badly let down by two parties who have broken their promises – we have topped the poll in a fairly dramatic style.” He added that “The two party system now serves nothing but itself.”
Brexit Party members including Ann Widdecombe, a former Conservative minister, lauded the vote, praising voters for their consistency. Other ministers committed themselves to leaving the EU “with or without a deal.”
European markets were broadly higher following the election. The FTSE was up 0.65 percent as of 9:29 a.m. GMT. The DAX was up 0.47 percent, and the CAC was up 0.45 percent.
On the currency markets, the dollar eased against the British pound, with the sterling up 0.05 percent in Europe’s early morning, to trade at $1.2718. The euro fell against the dollar, falling 0.08 percent to $1.1192. Before its decline, the euro was trading at $1.1211 during Monday’s Asian session, near 1 ½ week highs. The common currency hit a two-year low of $1.11055 on Thursday.
With the conclusion of the elections, analysts expect trader focus to shift back to the trade war between the United States and China. Likewise, U.S. President Donald Trump is working towards a trade deal with Japan and is concluding a four-day meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, during which he pressed the Japanese leader to narrow the trade imbalance between the countries, a strategy he used previously in his negotiations with China. Following the meetings Abe was non-committal regarding a timeline for such a shifting of the trade balance.