Shadow Brexit Secretary, Sir Keir Starmer has said that a cross-party Brexit deal would not get through Parliament unless there is a confirmatory vote, adding that without a new referendum, up to 150 Labour MPs would vote against any deal. He also added that he would not be opposed to ending cross-party discussions as soon as this week if the Prime Minister refused to budge on her “red lines”. Brexit uncertainty may have dampened sentiment in Sterling, but the UK currency has still managed some gains against the euro.
Data at the end of last week revealed that UK GDP rose by 0.5 percent in the first quarter of 2019, with further data revealing that the UK manufacturing sector grew at its fastest rate since 1988.
Despite this seemingly positive news many analysts were at pains to point out that the forecast-beating result was merely a “Brexit effect” caused by businesses stockpiling goods and increasing production runs in the expected run-up to the UK leading the EU.
Earlier in the day Germany had reported an unexpected rise in exports in March, however the pairing was left flat on Friday.
Looking ahead to tomorrow, the euro could slide against the pound following the release of the German harmonised index of consumer prices.
If April’s inflation figure does not rise as high as expected, the euro could lose support.
Meanwhile, the pound could rise following the release of the UK ILO unemployment data.
If UK unemployment remains at record lows, it will likely buoy Sterling against the euro, assuming there is no Brexit news to blow it off-course in the meantime.