Pound Slides as May Barred From Seeking Repeat Parliament Vote

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – The pound weakened Monday as optimism that an immediate resolution could be found to the Brexit impasse dimmed.

Sterling declined against all Group-of-10 currencies after Parliament speaker, John Bercow, forbid U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May from bringing her Brexit deal back for another vote if it is “substantially the same”. May was widely expected to bring her divorce plan for another try before Wednesday or use the threat of a delay to get Parliament behind it by early next week.

Monday’s decline pares the currency’s rally seen after lawmakers rejected leaving the European Union without a deal, viewed by economists and businesses as the worst-case scenario. Still, the latest developments mean it isn’t clear what May will do next.

‘It’s a firm pound sell for me,” said Neil Jones, head of hedge fund currency sales at Mizuho Bank Ltd. “The market was positioned for a vote in favor” of May’s deal on the third attempt, he said.

The pound fell 0.4 percent to $1.3234 after earlier sliding as much as 0.8 percent to $1.3185. The currency had its biggest gain since January last week, touching a nine-month high. The decline has pared sterling’s advance for this year to about 4 percent. The currency weakened 0.7 percent to 85.80 pence per euro.