UK Government triggers Article 50 for Brexit

Today is the day traders have been waiting for since the results came in on the vote in June last year to exit from the European Union. The article 50 due to be triggered at 12:30 this afternoon, and will certainly bring some movement to the current rates. With mixed suggestions from market analysts, but with a majority suggesting that the markets have already priced the triggering, there is still always the chance that the Pound could move either way once the official announcement is made. So if you do have an upcoming Euro requirement, and not willing to gamble on any further potential losses as a result of article 50, then this morning is your final chance to lock in and secure a rate of exchange.

This is, however, just the beginning. Moving forward, traders are now likely to focus their attention on what the process will mean for the UK’s financial industry, and economy and what negative effects any future deals or agreements made will have on the Pound. There is still a long bumpy journey ahead so expect further volatility over the next two year as the Government concentrate on negotiating trade agreements. Yesterday the Scottish referendum debates continued which resulted in Scottish Parliament formally backing a second referendum for independence. However, the UK Government has already said it will block a referendum until such point that the Brexit process has completed.

Scotland it seems will have to now wait until 2019. Adding yet another factor which can only cause more suffering for the Pound in the upcoming future post-Brexit. In recent days we had seen the Pound make some gains last week. Sterling seemed to have lost its steam as the trading day progressed losing almost a cent against the Euro and the US Dollar. As well as article 50 today we also have some low-key European data for Germany, France and Italy. This morning we have UK Consumer Credit and Mortgage approval data at 09:30 then this afternoon we have the US Pending home sales data at 15:00.

Get in touch with your broker here at CI to discuss the options we provide to help you secure your requirement or for a chat, if you are concerned about the market and how this might affect your upcoming requirements.