The pressure on Sterling is insurmountable due to the Brexit vote on June. Since the vote, the currency has been declining against USD. The strengthening of US dollar didn’t offer any support for Sterling. In the past week, Sterling showed a slight improvement, thanks to the UK economic data.
On Monday, Sterling slid down further against the US dollar as the market is afraid of a hard Brexit. The British Prime Minister Theresa May commented on the complications related to Brexit negotiations and this has reflected in the market conditions. The Sterling reached a new 10-week low following the comments from the Prime Minister. The GBP USD rate fell to 1.2146, losing about 1.12%. Euro too strengthened against the Sterling as the EUR GBP reached 0.8679 which is the strongest level in the past two months.
Theresa May, in a television interview said that Britain is not interested in keeping small bits of European Union Membership. This crushed the hopes of having some control on the EU market and this has pushed the investors to take hard decisions. It simply means that UK won’t try to negotiate considering the importance of retaining the European Single market. While many experts comment it as a hard Brexit, Theresa May said she doesn’t accept the terms hard and soft. She further added that hard Brexit is inevitable.
The US dollar index on the other hand strengthened against the greenback, gaining 0.28%. With new light on the Brexit negotiations, experts predict further fall of the Sterling.