Slips 0.2 per cent against the dollar
The pound slipped against the dollar today amid uncertainty over Britain staying in the customs union after Brexit. Sterling slipped 0.2 per cent to 1.3489.
Even though Theresa May had said yesterday that the UK would leave the customs union after Brexit, a source said London was considering a backstop plan that would apply the bloc’s external tariffs beyond December 2020.
Fiona Cincotta, a senior market analyst at CityIndex commented: ‘The pound was trading lower versus the dollar once again on Friday, as it heads towards fresh 5-month lows. Whilst a run of soft UK economic data, a dovish BoE and growing concerns over the future health of the UK labour market has been weighing on demand for the pound over the past month, the negative sentiment intensified this week by the return of Brexit fears and an ever-stronger US dollar. With the UK economic calendar quiet for the first part of next week, investors will need to wait until Wednesday’s inflation data for any hope of a meaningful change in direction for the battered pound.’
The FTSE 100 was also flat at about 7,780 points after closing at a record high yesterday.
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