Sterling continued to gain support from expectations that a ‘no-deal’ Brexit would be ruled out with the trade-weighted index hitting 10-month highs.

There was mixed dollar trading with limited gains on the back of declines in commodity currencies as markets monitored US political developments.

Sterling continued to gain support from expectations that a ‘no-deal’ Brexit would be ruled out with the trade-weighted index hitting 10-month highs. Brexit hopes also helped protect Euro sentiment with little net EUR/USD change.

Risk appetite faltered after Chinese PMI manufacturing reinforced global growth doubts and equity markets registered limited net losses.

Oil prices were boosted by a sharp decline in crude inventories, but demand concerns limited support with limited losses on Thursday.

Precious metals edged lower with a lack of significant defensive support.

Sterling continued to push higher during Wednesday as markets maintained a more optimistic Brexit stance. There were further expectations that a ‘no-deal’ outcome would be ruled out within parliament which underpinned sentiment. There was a significant increase in UK bond yields which also helped underpin Sterling, although the impact was offset by higher yields in other major markets. The trade-weighted index strengthened to a 10-month high with an 8-month GBP/USD peak near 1.3350.

The government survived the series of votes in the House of Commons, maintaining expectations that a disruptive Brexit would be avoided on March 29th. There was also speculation that there would be a meaningful vote next week. The UK currency was vulnerable to a correction, although it held the bulk of daily gains as GBP/EUR posted fresh 21-month highs above 1.1650 before a limited correction.

There was a notable decline for the Lloyds business confidence index while consumer confidence stabilised. GBP/USD consolidated near 1.3300 on Thursday with the potential for choppy trading on month-end pressures.

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