With the European indices taking a sure to be momentary break from the churn of trade news, the pound became Thursday’s focus, one week away from the UK’s general election.
Though the polls have largely showed the Conservative lead shrinking from its early campaign peak, Boris Johnson and co. have nevertheless maintained a 9-12 point buffer between them and Labour. That would likely be enough for the Tories to secure a chunky majority, one that would then presumably see the UK leave the EU on January 31st.
Desperate for the Brexit uncertainty to be over – even if there is plenty more in the pipeline when the UK starts to actually negotiate its new trade deals – the pound has popped higher every time the polls have pointed towards a Tory win. Thursday was no different, sterling continuing Wednesday’s gains by rising 0.4% against the dollar and 0.2% against the euro.
Cable now sits at $1.3145, a level last seen exactly 7 months ago. Against its single currency cousin, meanwhile, the pound is trading above a 31-month high of €1.185. As a bit of context, though the pound is definitely doing better than it has done for much of the last couple of years, pre-Brexit referendum it was sitting at $1.50 and €1.30. Its recent gains are a sign, perhaps, of how much sterling’s wants have changed in the aftermath of that vote.
Elsewhere the European indices weren’t up to much, which is fair enough given how exhausting the start of December has been. The CAC jumped 0.3%, but with the DAX down 0.1%. The FTSE was the worst performer, and even then it only lost 0.2%, tipped into the red by the pound’s own rise.
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