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The appeal of the pound weakened in response to April’s UK gross domestic product report, with growth found to have contracted -0.4% on the month. As companies moved to protect themselves from a potential no-deal Brexit in April this naturally limited production growth and business investment, leading the economy to its worst monthly performance in [...] Read more about: "Pound – lower after UK growth sees contraction in April"

An unexpected contraction in the UK manufacturing PMI put fresh pressure on the pound with signs increasingly pointing towards the economy losing momentum in the second quarter. Worries over the outlook of the Eurozone economy also limited the appeal of the euro, with the Italian government voicing its dissatisfaction with EU budget rules once again. [...] Read more about: "UK manufacturing contraction hits pound"

As Theresa May announced her resignation as leader of the Conservative Party the pound came under fresh pressure, with markets wary of the prospect of a hard-leaning Brexiteer winning the ensuing leadership contest. The euro also struggled to gain ground over the course of the week thanks to the increasingly dovish outlook of the European [...] Read more about: "Theresa May’s imminent departure drags pound lower"

The collapse of cross-party Brexit discussions left the pound on a weaker footing, with political uncertainty looking set to dominate the domestic outlook in the months ahead.   Although the first quarter German and Eurozone gross domestic product data showed an improvement on the previous quarter this was not enough to shore up the euro. [...] Read more about: "End of cross-party Brexit talks weighs on pound"

Friday’s UK gross domestic product data proved mixed in nature, leaving the pound with limited support ahead of the weekend. Although the headline annual first quarter gross domestic product accelerated from 1.4% to 1.8% as forecast this failed to ease market worries over the underlying health of the UK economy. Investors were disappointed as the [...] Read more about: "Pound remains muted after UK gross domestic product fails to impress"

Brexit uncertainty saw the pound struggle last week as markets braced for the possibility of the UK leaving the EU without a deal, although GBP did later recoup some of its losses on signs of progress. The mood towards the euro soured significantly, meanwhile, as the German manufacturing sector saw its worst monthly performance in [...] Read more about: "Pound struggles to recover ground in spite of extended Brexit deadline"

As the last week’s raft of parliamentary votes saw the odds of a no-deal Brexit decline this helped the pound to make fresh gains against its rivals, in spite of an ongoing sense of political uncertainty. Confidence in the euro, meanwhile, eased as the latest German inflation data saw a surprise downward revision. With the [...] Read more about: "Pound struggles to maintain gains thanks to Brexit uncertainty"

The pound fell back against the majority of its peers last week, limping over the finishing line as Brexit jitters rocked the currency ahead of a series of key votes. Sterling appears steady at the start of this week, with GBP/EUR flat at €1.1571, while GBP/USD holds at US$1.3009. Looking to the week ahead, we [...] Read more about: "Brexit votes to rock Sterling this week"

Lower odds of no-deal Brexit spur pound surge The pound climbed to multi-month highs against the majors as worries over the threat of a potential no-deal Brexit eased, benefitting from the promise of additional parliamentary votes. A better-than-expected uptick in February’s German consumer price index offered support to the euro, meanwhile, as inflation in the [...] Read more about: "The pound climbed to multi-month highs"

Worries over Brexit continued to weigh on the pound, with markets unsettled by Theresa May’s decision to postpone the ‘meaningful’ parliamentary vote once again. The euro struggled to find support, meanwhile, as economic confidence in both Germany and the wider Eurozone continued to weaken. Signs of increasing reticence among Federal Reserve policymakers put pressure on [...] Read more about: "Postponement of Brexit vote hangs over pound"