The Sterling recovered, scaling a 2-month high against the single currency, and edged up temporarily against the dollar. EU-UK is close to a deal regarding Brexit.
Both the President of the European Commission and EU Brexit negotiators signaled the progress of the negotiations. Specifically, Juncker suggested November as the month of the “divorce”.
On Wednesday the UK Prime Minister defended her Brexit plans once again. Despite few new “findings” in her speech the response of the market was direct but not so strong. May said that she prefers a no-deal Brexit rather than a bad one. Her speech in front of the participants of her Conservative party conference was indicative of her intentions towards the new round of EU-UK negotiations.
The British pound has been hit hard by worries Britain would exit the EU without a trade deal in place. After a summer sell-off the British pound has recovered in recent weeks as optimism grows that Brussels and London can overcome differences and reach an agreement.
Forex Market – EU-UK: The End of the Affair is close
The Dollar edged higher 0.1% towards a 1 ½ month high against its major traded rivals ahead of Non-Farm Payrolls. US September unemployment rate is expected to reach an 18-year low of 3.8%.
The Euro dropped about 0.8% against the greenback this month.
The Australian Dollar slid 0.3% to a 32-month low, as as U.S. yield spreads continued to widen. The Aussie, extending losses into a fourth straight session, has now fallen 2.1 percent this month.
The Sterling rose 0.3% against the euro, its highest since the 9th of July.
Oil prices remained close to a 4-year high. Brent crude futures dropped by 5 cents a barrel, just a bit below 85$ per barrel. On Thursday, Brent fell 1.6 percent, but the contract remained on course for gaining of around 2% for the week. U.S. crude futures gained 25 cents from their last close and a gain of more than 1.5% since last Friday.
Sources: Reuters, CNN money, BBC
PLEASE NOTE The information above is not investment advice.