Selling Britain by the pound Selling Britain by the pound Selling Britain by the pound

Selling Britain by the pound

Forex 5 minutes to read
MO
Michael O’Neill

FX Trader, Loonieviews.net

Summary:  Forex traders are no more impressed by UK PM Theresa May's latest efforts than were the leaders of the European Union, and sterling is on track to take the 'week's worst performer' title away from a languishing loonie.


FX traders see the UK as chopped liver and are selling it by the pound. At one point this week, GBPUSD was down 2.3% from peak to trough as the UK’s Brexit plan took a turn for the worse. The European Union’s decision to deny Prime Minister Theresa May’s request for a three-month extension to Article 50 in favour of a May 22 end date precipitated the plunge. Even after the Queen’s currency climbed from the low to 1.3195 today, it is still on track to finish the week as the worst-performing currency.

The Canadian dollar takes the silver medal. It lost 0.52% (as of 13:30 GMT) since last Friday’s close and turned the short-term technical outlook to bullish. January Retail Sales fell 0.3%, a nasty surprise for those expecting a 0.4% increase. Statistics Canada blamed the drop on lower sales of motor vehicles and parts. USDCAD jumped to 1.3425 from 1.3395 on the news but quickly retreated, in part because of slightly better than expected inflation data. February CPI rose 1.5%, year-on-year, and rose 2.1% excluding gasoline prices.
Canadian inflation
Source: Statistics Canada
Wall Street is jittery. The Dow Jones Industrial Average opened with a drop of over 100 points, suggesting it will close with a loss for the week. The S&P 500 is in the same boat, but the Nasdaq is hanging on to small gains since Monday. Arguably, the price action is just noise with traders weighing global growth concerns against dovish Federal Reserve policy.

Next week may get off to a slow start and then start building momentum into month-end. The UK governments third attempt to get May’s Brexit plan approved by Parliament next week headlines what otherwise would be a fairly dull week, at least until Friday.

The Reserve Bank of New Zealand monetary policy meeting next Wednesday shouldn’t offer any surprises. It is widely expected to keep interest rates unchanged at 1.75% while following the Federal Open Market Committee’s lead and echoing concerns about global growth and trade. US Q4 GDP data on Wednesday and Chicago PMI and Michigan Consumer Sentiment on Friday are the key American economic reports for the week. It is also year-end in Japan, where USDJPY tends to trade with a negative bias due to Japan repatriating offshore assets.
GBPUSD (hourly, source: Saxo Bank)
GBPUSD (hourly, source: Saxo Bank)

Disclaimer

The Saxo Group entities each provide execution-only service, and access to analysis permitting a person to view and/or use content available on or via the website is not intended to and does not change or expand on this. Such access and use are at all times subject to (i) The Terms of Use; (ii) Full Disclaimer; (iii) The Risk Warning; (iv) the Inspiration Disclaimer and (v) Notices applying to Trade Inspiration, Saxo News & Research and/or its content in addition (where relevant) to the terms governing the use of hyperlinks on the website of a member of the Saxo Group by which access to Saxo News & Research is gained. Such content is therefore provided as no more than information. In particular, no advice is intended to be provided or to be relied on as provided nor endorsed by any Saxo Group entity; nor is it to be construed as solicitation or an incentive provided to subscribe for or sell or purchase any financial instrument. All trading or investments you make must be pursuant to your own unprompted and informed self-directed decision. As such no Saxo Group entity will have or be liable for any losses that you may sustain as a result of any investment decision made in reliance on information which is available on Saxo News & Research or as a result of the use of the Saxo News & Research. Orders given and trades effected are deemed intended to be given or effected for the account of the customer with the Saxo Group entity operating in the jurisdiction in which the customer resides and/or with whom the customer opened and maintains his/her trading account. Saxo News & Research does not contain (and should not be construed as containing) financial, investment, tax or trading advice or advice of any sort offered, recommended or endorsed by Saxo Group and should not be construed as a record of our trading prices, or as an offer, incentive or solicitation for the subscription, sale or purchase in any financial instrument. To the extent that any content is construed as investment research, you must note and accept that the content was not intended to and has not been prepared in accordance with legal requirements designed to promote the independence of investment research and as such, would be considered as a marketing communication under relevant laws.

Please read our disclaimers:
Notification on Non-Independent Investment Research (https://www.home.saxo/legal/niird/notification)
Full disclaimer (https://www.home.saxo/en-sg/legal/disclaimer/saxo-disclaimer)

None of the information contained here constitutes an offer to purchase or sell a financial instrument, or to make any investments. Saxo Markets does not take into account your personal investment objectives or financial situation and makes no representation and assumes no liability as to the accuracy or completeness of the information nor for any loss arising from any investment made in reliance of this presentation. Any opinions made are subject to change and may be personal to the author. These may not necessarily reflect the opinion of Saxo Markets or its affiliates.

Saxo Markets
88 Market Street
CapitaSpring #31-01
Singapore 048948

Contact Saxo

Select region

Singapore
Singapore

Saxo Capital Markets Pte Ltd ('Saxo Markets') is a company authorised and regulated by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) [Co. Reg. No.: 200601141M ] and is a wholly owned subsidiary of Saxo Bank A/S, headquartered in Denmark. Please refer to our General Business Terms & Risk Warning to consider whether acquiring or continuing to hold financial products is suitable for you, prior to opening an account and investing in a financial product.

Trading in financial instruments carries various risks, and is not suitable for all investors. Please seek expert advice, and always ensure that you fully understand these risks before trading. Trading in leveraged products such as Margin FX products may result in your losses exceeding your initial deposits. Saxo Markets does not provide financial advice, any information available on this website is ‘general’ in nature and for informational purposes only. Saxo Markets does not take into account an individual’s needs, objectives or financial situation.

The Saxo trading platform has received numerous awards and recognition. For details of these awards and information on awards visit www.home.saxo/en-sg/about-us/awards.

The information or the products and services referred to on this website may be accessed worldwide, however is only intended for distribution to and use by recipients located in countries where such use does not constitute a violation of applicable legislation or regulations. Products and Services offered on this website are not intended for residents of the United States, Malaysia and Japan. Please click here to view our full disclaimer.

This advertisement has not been reviewed by the Monetary Authority of Singapore.

Apple and the Apple logo are trademarks of Apple Inc, registered in the US and other countries and regions. App Store is a service mark of Apple Inc. Google Play and the Google Play logo are trademarks of Google LLC.