Struck down with a nasty case of Brexititus, the pound showed no signs of recovery as Thursday went on, the currency fearfully waiting to see whether Theresa May’s draft deal would prompt any more resignations.
Uneasy at the open, the departures of Brexit Secretary Dominic Raab and Work and Pensions Secretary Esther McVey (among others) sent sterling into a spin during the morning session. News of Jacob Rees-Mogg’s letter demanding a vote of no confidence in May hardly helped matters, though crucially, perhaps, neither did it substantially make things worse. There are also reports circulating that Michael Gove has been offered the now-vacant position of Brexit Secretary, with other rumours suggesting he will only take the job if he can renegotiate the deal (there is still the chance he just quits altogether).
With, assumedly, plenty more drama to come, cable found itself flitting about $1.278 as it slid 1.7%, while sterling was stuck below €1.129 against the euro following a 1.8% plunge. The FTSE, normally a huge fan of a distressed pound, dropped under 7000 as it fell 0.8%, with serious losses in its banking, housing and retail sectors as investors weighed up the likelihood of a ‘no deal’ Brexit.
There was little joy elsewhere. The DAX and CAC shed 1.2% and 1.5% respectively, their decline a mixture of Brexit-jitters and annoying at the euro’s against the pound. A similar logic presumably drove the Dow Jones lower, the US index losing another 250 points to dive back towards 24800, its worst price in over a fortnight.
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