News late last night of a major row between PM Theresa May and Brexit minister David Davis over the government’s final position on a backstop for Northern Ireland could weigh on Sterling in the days to come if no agreed position is found.
Brexit minister Davis is seeking a firm end date for the customs union plan while PM May prefers an open-ended arrangement when the UK leaves the EU. Press reports have said that David Davis may resign if no firm end-date is agreed.
Brexit minister Davis added fuel to the fire say Wednesday that “the Prime Minister has already made public the fact that we expect to put a time-limit on the backstop proposal”, heaping pressure on the Prime Minister for clarity on the matter.
The EU withdrawal bill returns to the House of Commons on June 12 with the government looking to overturn several House of Lords amendments.
The British Pound has pulled back from recent multi-month lows against the US dollar, but this recovery may come under pressure as Brexit negotiations again take center-stage. If there is no clear resolution, or if David Davis quits his role, Prime Minister Theresa May’s position may become untenable and leave the UK weakened ahead of the European Council meeting on June 28-29.
The euro climbed to a two-week high today as investors raised their bets that the European Central Bank will next week signal a winding down of its vast bond-buying program by the end of this year.
The central bank’s chief economist Peter Praet, a close ally of President Mario Draghi, said on Wednesday that the ECB would debate next week whether to end bond purchases later this year.