Pound LIVE: UK told to stop 'wasting everyone’s time' and adopt EU laws during transition
THE POUND enjoyed a rise to pre-Brexit highs of 1.43 against the Dollar last week as renewed confidence and toxic sentiment around the Dollar drove Sterling north. However, the Pound could dip today after news Britain wants the power to vet new EU laws, putting the PM on a collision course with Brussels chiefs.
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Good afternoon.
The Pound has fallen from its perch against the Dollar after the US currency recovered from last week's slide.
Sterling is down to 1.4125, a fall of 0.16 percent against the Dollar, but up against the Euro a slim 0.12 percent to 1.1397.
There are fears that it could be a bad week for the Pound with fresh controversy arriving over the Brexit allignment or divergence debate, and the return of the chancellor's super soft Brexit stance.
Pressure is mounting on Prime Minister Theresa May to sack Philip Hammond, as yet another Tory MP stood poised to formally demand a leadership contest, claiming the Chancellor’s Brexit intervention had been “the final straw”.
Also, the FT report that senior UK and European officials are growing increasingly concerned that the battle over whether Britain should automatically accept all the rules set by the EU after Brexit will delay any transition deal.
During the transition period in which the UK works towards a clean Brexit, British leaders want the ability to vet new EU laws agreed by the rest of the bloc during the transition period after Brexit day.
However, this goes against the EU's principles and a senior European government official told the FT that Britain was “wasting everyone’s time” looking for alternative mechanisms.
Kate Hoey: Umunna using Brexit to get at Corbyn
2.20pm - UPDATE - Theresa May’s Tory turbulence drags sterling lower
Connor Campbell at Spreadex told Express.co.uk:
"With little else to focus on investors turned their attention to Theresa May’s most recent bout of Tory turbulence, much to the pound’s displeasure.
"The Prime Minister is dealing with the umpteenth swell of dissent over the state of her leadership, while at the same time having to try and quash the latest beef between her warring ministers, this round sparked by leaked Whatsapp messages from climate change minister Claire Perry calling Brexit voters ‘swivel-eyed’.
"Add onto that the Lords constitution committee labelling the EU withdrawal bill as ‘fundamentally flawed’ just one day before the legislation is set to be debated, alongside a warning from EU leaders that the UK is ‘not ready’ to secure a divorce deal, and there was plenty for the previously soaring pound to fret about.
2.09pm - UPDATE - EU confident it can meet Trump's challenge
Following President Donal Trump's claims that the European Union restricts access, EC chiefs claim they are ready to react swiftly if the United States restricts its exports, the European Commission said after US President Donald Trump threatened to confront the bloc over its “very unfair” trade policy.
Trump said in an interview with Britain’s ITV broadcast on Sunday that he had a lot of problems with the EU and that it could “morph into something big” on trade.
A commission spokesman told a news conference that the European Union did not view trade as a zero-sum game.
“It is not about winners and losers. We here in the European Union believe that trade can be and should be win-win,” spokesman Margaritis Schinas said.
The Pound is down against the Euro 0.01 percent to 1.1383, and down against the Dollar a thick 0.5 percent to 1.4078.
12.50pm - UPDATE - Pound down half a percent on greenback
The Dollar is fighting back after last week's drop. The greenback is now up 0.54 percent against the Pound to 1.4071.
10.50am - UPDATE - Brexit uncertainty rules (again)
The House of Lords is expected to tell the Prime Minister that her position on Brexit is "constitutionally unacceptable".
The European Union (Withdrawal) Bill, which will be debated by peers for the first time on Tuesday, has been heavily criticised in a damning report by the Lords Constitution Committee.
The peers said the Bill was "fundamentally flawed" in multiple ways and risked "undermining legal certainty" - a damning assessment of Mrs May’s Brexit vision.
Read the full report here.
Brexit uncertainty continues to hurt the Pound. Sterling is down 0.13 percent against the Dollar to 1.1404, and down 0.26 percent against the Euro to 1.1354.
9.24am - UPDATE - Pound slips, more slipping expected
The Pound is down 0.28 percent against the US greenback to 1.4109, and also down 0.07 percent against the Euro to 1.1375.
Could the UK reform the EU from within? Gina Miller certainly thinks so.
She said: "We’re in unknown territory from all points of views. Also, nobody is a futurologist: you can’t tell what’s going to happen.
"I believe we should have a people’s vote – not a second referendum – on all the options. That’s whatever the deal is, no deal, and remaining and reforming from within."
Read the report here.
