Pound climbs on considerable progress in Brexit talks
Barnier
FILE PHOTO : Pound coins are seen in this photo illustration taken in Manchester   Britain September 6   2017 . REUTERS / Phil Noble / Illustration LONDON ( Reuters ) - Britain ’ s pound climbed almost a cent against a weakening dollar on Thursday after Britain ’ s Brexit secretary said “ considerable progress ” had been made in talks and the EU ’ s chief negotiator praised a “ new dynamic ” from the prime minister . Sterling had earlier been trading down on the day   dipping to as low as $ 1 . 3344 after Bank of England Governor Mark Carney said the bank could not by itself nullify the negative effects of Britain leaving the European Union on the economy . But it turned higher as the dollar weakened and after  Barnier  said the two sides in the Brexit negotiations - Britain and the European Union - had “ had a constructive week ”  though despite progress  they  were “ not there yet ”.  Barnier  said further work was needed in the coming weeks and months   but  he  praised a “ new dynamic ” created by concessions made last week by Prime Minister Theresa May in a speech in Florence   Italy . Sterling strengthened to as much as $ 1 . 3456 GBP = D3   up over half a percent on the day . “  He  ( Barnier ) is suggesting that they ’ re making more progress now and that there ’ s positive signs in the negotiations this week  ” said MUFG currency economist Lee Hardman . “ That backs up the view that if this continues   there ’ s potentially some scope for EU leaders to grant some concessions to the UK .” “ If they were to allow the UK to start talking about a transitional deal alongside the divorce talks   that to us is a potentially significant positive for the pound  ” he added . Barnier ’ s British counterpart   Brexit Secretary David Davis   said they had made “ considerable progress ” in four days of talks in Brussels and repeated his eagerness to move on to discuss what happens after Brexit in March 2019 . “ Sterling ( is rallying ) on the ‘ considerable progress ’ comments regarding Brexit talks  ” said Mizuho ’ s head of hedge fund FX sales Neil Jones . Having earlier dipped against the euro   sterling turned slightly higher on the day to 87 . 60 pence versus the single currency EURGBP = D3   close to a 10 - week high . Strong UK retail sales numbers on Wednesday bolstered expectations of a BoE rate hike in November - a view that lifted the pound above $ 1 . 3650 to its highest since the Brexit vote earlier this month . “ We stay of the view that the BoE is on track with tightening monetary policy as part of the November meeting  ” wrote Credit Agricole strategists in a note to clients . “ This in turn suggests that there is room of rising central bank rate expectations to the benefit of the pound .”
FILE PHOTO : Pound coins are seen in this photo illustration taken in Manchester   Britain September 6   2017 . REUTERS / Phil Noble / Illustration LONDON ( Reuters ) - Britain ’ s pound climbed almost a cent against a weakening dollar on Thursday after Britain ’ s Brexit secretary said “ considerable progress ” had been made in talks and the EU ’ s chief negotiator praised a “ new dynamic ” from the prime minister . Sterling had earlier been trading down on the day   dipping to as low as $ 1 . 3344 after Bank of England Governor Mark Carney said the bank could not by itself nullify the negative effects of Britain leaving the European Union on the economy . But it turned higher as the dollar weakened and after  [TGT]said the two sides in the Brexit negotiations - Britain and the European Union - had “ had a constructive week ”  though despite progress  they  were “ not there yet ”.  [TGT]said further work was needed in the coming weeks and months   but  [TGT]  praised a “ new dynamic ” created by concessions made last week by Prime Minister Theresa May in a speech in Florence   Italy . Sterling strengthened to as much as $ 1 . 3456 GBP = D3   up over half a percent on the day . “  He  ( Barnier ) is suggesting that they ’ re making more progress now and that there ’ s positive signs in the negotiations this week  ” said MUFG currency economist Lee Hardman . “ That backs up the view that if this continues   there ’ s potentially some scope for EU leaders to grant some concessions to the UK .” “ If they were to allow the UK to start talking about a transitional deal alongside the divorce talks   that to us is a potentially significant positive for the pound  ” he added . Barnier ’ s British counterpart   Brexit Secretary David Davis   said they had made “ considerable progress ” in four days of talks in Brussels and repeated his eagerness to move on to discuss what happens after Brexit in March 2019 . “ Sterling ( is rallying ) on the ‘ considerable progress ’ comments regarding Brexit talks  ” said Mizuho ’ s head of hedge fund FX sales Neil Jones . Having earlier dipped against the euro   sterling turned slightly higher on the day to 87 . 60 pence versus the single currency EURGBP = D3   close to a 10 - week high . Strong UK retail sales numbers on Wednesday bolstered expectations of a BoE rate hike in November - a view that lifted the pound above $ 1 . 3650 to its highest since the Brexit vote earlier this month . “ We stay of the view that the BoE is on track with tightening monetary policy as part of the November meeting  ” wrote Credit Agricole strategists in a note to clients . “ This in turn suggests that there is room of rising central bank rate expectations to the benefit of the pound .”