The Great Britain pound fell against the euro today due to poor UK economic data and fears of the Brexit. Nevertheless, the sterling was able to gain on such major rivals as the US dollar and the Japanese yen.
The Markit/CIPS UK Services PMI fell to the lowest level since March 2013, missing market expectations by a wide margin. Analysts speculated that fears of the Brexit contributed to the decline. Adding to concerns, the seasonally adjusted Halifax house price index dropped unexpectedly 1.4% in February from the preceding month.
Talking about the Brexit, German finance minister Wolfgang Schaeuble said today that it would be hard for the United Kingdom to secure a special trade deal with the European Union in case the UK leaves the EU. He stated:
It would be extremely hard or even impossible to negotiate a special deal in a post-Brexit atmosphere.
Yet despite all the worries, the pound stayed firm against some major rivals. Apparently, the market sentiment was good enough to support the currency.
GBP/USD gained from 1.4076 to 1.4147 as of 18:11 GMT today. GBP/JPY advanced from 159.70 to 160.59. At the same time, EUR/GBP rose from 0.7717 to 0.7743.
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