The pound continues its weak performance today, as a short Brexit extension appears to be the next likely step. It’s also still unclear as to when the third meaningful vote will take place, if at all.
Ahead of the EU summit tomorrow, EU leaders and EU Council President Donald Tusk have said that the UK need a clear plan if an extension to Article 50 is to be granted. This has emerged despite assurances from EU Council President Donald Tusk and predictions from elsewhere that an extension is likely. Unfortunately, this only adds to the uncertainty regarding Brexit and therefore heightens the volatility of the pound.
The UK’s jobless rate was revealed to have hit a 44 year low, with employers hiring at the fastest rate in more than 3 years. This comes despite concerns that Brexit would discourage businesses from hiring. Although promising, it is possibly worth noting that these figures are back-dated, and do not take into account the Brexit uncertainty that has risen since the end of January.
The promising jobs data caused a brief uplift for the pound, however, this was short lived in wake of the latest disruptions, diversions and divisions in UK Parliament over PM May’s deal with the EU.
Today, UK inflation data is released, and it will be interesting to see if the pound is affected. Brexit developments will no doubt dominate, however.
