Christmas currency news

Last week we saw sterling back under pressure, as Boris Johnson effectively put leaving without a deal, back on the table.

He said he wanted to pass legislation so the transition period, once we leave, cannot be extended past a year. But if no EU trade deal is agreed upon by then, we could still be leaving without a deal. The effect of this was around a three cent drop in the value of sterling v euro, in contrast to the highs we saw just the Friday before after the election results.

As the week drew to a close the Bank of England announced the successor to Mark Carney, the current FCA Chief Exec, Andrew Bailey. He takes over on 16th March 2020.  We also saw MPs vote on BoJo’s withdrawal bill. The second reading was passed on Friday afternoon by a majority of 124, meaning the UK is on course to now leave at the end of the January next year. As a result, sterling rallied as trade came to a close gaining a cent against the euro and dollar.

With Christmas only days away, markets look forward to a few days off. Today we have just one data release of note, being US capital goods orders and durable goods orders.

So with little else to report, from all at Currency Index and A Place In The Sun Currency, we wish all our clients a very Happy Christmas and a fabulous New Year. Looking forward to assisting you all again soon in 2020.