Brexit talks ongoing as PM is slammed in the commons

Once again the markets continue to be dictated by the ongoing Brexit talks as we still await any progress to be made in Brussels with Prime minister Theresa May and European Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker still trying to negotiate a deal by the end of this week. It had been expected that there would be some clarity and deal finalised by the end of this week, however once again leaving the European union still continues to be a big mess that no one can seemingly sort out. The PM has yet to make a breakthrough with the DUP on border control in Ireland after a phone call deemed unsuccessful with DUP leader Arlene Foster yesterday prolonging the problem further. This could spell further woes on Mrs May’s position as should the DUP continue to hinder any progress in the brexit talks it could potentially call for another election to put an end to a coalition government. Later in the afternoon Theresa May held prime ministers questions in the house of commons and was expectedly ridiculed by the opposition with the current affairs, Jerermy Corbyn and other labour MPs questioned her ability on her handling of leaving the EU and by doing so trying to mount more pressure on the prime minister.

Third time lucky for Merkel

Merkel will be hoping to form a coalition government at the third time of asking within the next couple of weeks. It has been three months since the election was held in Germany which had no party winning the vote outright and the feeling coming out of Germany is that a deal could be struck any daynow. Chancellor Angela Merkel will be hoping that talks with the SPD ( Social democratic party ) Led by Martin Schulz can reach an agreement with talks expected to commence at the end of this week in Berlin. Should these talks be successful for Angela Merkel a coalition government can be formed, from this there is an expectation that the Euro could rally once the new is broken which could spell bad news for the pound and those of you who need to send money to Portugal, France or elsewhere. This announcement could be imminent and once it reaches the press the market will react almost instantly and in doing so could deal the pound heavy blows. With Brexit marring any sterling gains recently the drop for the Pound could be a significant one so if you have an requirement for currency coming up then it may be wise to look at getting something arranged sooner rather than later so you are not caught out by any nasty surprises, contact your account manager today here at currency index for guidance.

Rest of the week

Today there are only a couple of data releases which could cause volatility in the market, along with ongoing Brexit talks. Starting in the Eurozone at 10am as GDP data is to be announced. The figure is expected to remain at last month’s reading of 0.6%. Later in the afternoon at 1.30pm in the US jobless claims is to be released which is expected to be a slightly higher reading from last month’s reading of 238k to 240k. Finally at 4pm ECB president Mario Draghi is expected to speak which at the time he does usually creates market volatility.