The lack of progress in the Parliamentary discussions centered around the Brexit process have continued to weigh on the currency which saw little action during Thursday trade. Some media reports are now saying that the talks are on the verge of collapsing which caused even more losses for the GBP/USD pair. Also keeping pressure on Sterling is the fact that Theresa May has not yet provided the public with her departure date, so the uncertainty around a new Prime Minister is also having a negative impact on sentiment. One analyst pointed out that her replacement is very likely to be even more firmly in the “leave” camp, meaning a hard crash out of the EU when the date finally arrives.
As reported at 11:59 am (GMT) in London, the GBP/USD was trading lower at $1.3004, down 0.0246%; the pair has ranged from a low of $1.2976 to a peak of $1.3026 in today's session. The EUR/GBP was trading at 0.8610 Pence, a gain of 0.079%; the session peak was recorded at 0.8614 Pence while the low was at 0.85973 Pence.
Yen Benefits from Trade War Jitters
One of the big movers in the currency market is the safe haven Japanese Yen which earlier hit a 3-month peak versus the greenback on concerns that the trade conflict between the US and China will escalate. Later today, trade talks in Washington will begin and hopefully will sufficiently assuage frayed investor nerves. The imposition of new tariffs on Chinese imports is also pressuring the proxy currencies, especially the Aussie Dollars. Currently, the USD/JPY is trading at 109.7500 Yen, down 0.3134%, while the AUD/USD is at $0.6978, down 0.1531%.