Home Daily Commentaries Pound in limbo amid continued Brexit uncertainty

Pound in limbo amid continued Brexit uncertainty

Daily Currency Update

GBP - British PoundGBP/USD fell below the 1.30 figure on Friday as the greenback firmed across the board. The dollar was bid higher following the release of stronger than expected US Non-farm payrolls headline data; it rose by a greater than expected 196K with the prior month revised modestly higher by 14K. Of course, Brexit also remains front and centre, and with a continued lack of clarity on a way forward the pound came under further selling pressure. The PM has asked the EU for an extension to 30th June, but in the meantime will likely hold further talks with Labour ahead of an emergency summit in Brussels on Wednesday, when EU leaders will expect to hear fresh plans.Looking at the week ahead, the direction of the pound will depend on further Brexit developments - that goes without saying. There's a plethora of important data due for release on Wednesday, which may have an impact, including UK GDP, US CPI and FOMC meeting minutes, whilst the the ECB monetary policy decision is also due.

Key Movers

Most other major currency pairs have traded fairly steady ranges over the last few trading sessions. EUR/USD looks comfortable above 1.1200 for now and will likely remain that way in the run up to the ECB announcement/statement on Wednesday. Both AUD/USD and NZD/USD slipped lower in the wake of the stronger jobs data on Friday.

Expected Ranges

  • GBP/USD: 1.3000 - 1.3140 ▲
  • GBP/EUR: 1.1560 - 1.1660 ▲
  • GBP/AUD: 1.8300 - 1.8510 ▲
  • GBP/NZD: 1.9300 - 1.9490 ▲
  • GBP/CAD: 1.7400 - 1.7550 ▲