The British pound dropped near 7-week lows against the dollar on Friday and three-week lows versus the euro. Concerns grows about whether the UK and the European Union can achieve a Brexit deal.
Bloomberg reported on Friday that Brexit talks were on hold because of Prime Minister Theresa May’s cabinet as it was not close enough to agreement on how to proceed for the negotiations to restart.
The report sent sterling to a day’s low of $1.2805 before the pound recovered to trade flat at $1.2820. That leaves the pound close to seven-week lows hit on Thursday of $1.2795.
Forex – Commodities – 7-week lows for Sterling
The dollar rose to a 10-week high on Friday as investors waited to see if U.S. economic growth figures do anything to interrupt its months of strength.
The U.S. dollar lost 0.4 percent to trade at 111.89 versus the Japanese yen, a safe haven currency.
The Australian dollar, often viewed as a gauge of risk appetite, fell 0.7 percent to a 32-month low of $0.7021.
Oil prices dropped more than 1 percent on Friday, heading for a third weekly loss after Saudi Arabia warned of oversupply. Further, a slump in stock markets and concerns about trade clouded the outlook for fuel demand.
Brent crude oil LCOc1 fell $1.12 to a low of $75.77 per barrel and was trading around $78.84, down $1.05. The contract is on course for a weekly loss of almost 5 percent. It has fallen by more than $10 in the last three weeks.
U.S. crude CLc1 was $1.05 lower at $66.28, set for a 4.1 percent loss this week.
Sources: Reuters, CNN money, BBC
PLEASE NOTE The information above is not investment advice.