Theresa May heads to Brussels to iron out Brexit blueprint
Theresa May heads to Brussels to iron out Brexit blueprint
Ongoing concerns over a ‘no deal’ Brexit dragged the Pound around half a percent lower on Tuesday. Theresa May will today head to Brussels to meet EU officials in order to try and finalise a Brexit deal before Sunday’s summit of EU leaders.
May remains under heavy pressure within her own party and the rest of government to seek further concessions from the European Union, namely surrounding the Irish border. The EU also missed its Tuesday deadline in order to finalise its declaration regarding it future relations with the UK. A number of EU countries have voiced concerns over the UK’s access to the single market and UK waters. Mercifully for May the Prime Minister has, at least, appeared to have avoided an imminent leadership challenge for now, with Tory rebels still quite considerably short of the 48 signatures required for a no confidence vote.
BoE Governor Mark Carney’s appearance at the inflation report hearings yesterday was unsurprisingly dominated by the topic of Brexit. Carney stated that the uncertainty has had a clear impact on business investment and that the risk of a ‘no deal’ remains uncomfortably high, albeit would not trigger another financial crisis.
Euro boosted by hopes of Italian budget comprise
Hopes of a compromise between the Italian government and the European Commission over the country’s budget helped the Euro rally this morning. Reports out on Wednesday suggested that Italy could be open to reviewing its draft budget for next year. Its budget proposals were, earlier this month, rejected by EC officials for fear that it could balloon the country’s already sizable public debt.
With no major economic announcements out of the Eurozone today, investors will instead look to tomorrow’s European Central Bank meeting accounts for clues as to the timing of the first interest rate hike in the Euro-area since 2011.
US markets quiet due to Thanksgiving holiday
The US Dollar had earlier risen against its major peers on Tuesday, buoyed by investors seeking safe-havens flows amid ongoing concerns regarding a US-China trade war. Macroeconomic news out of the US yesterday actually provided little assistance to the US Dollar. There was a decline in building permits, while housing starts unexpectedly missed its mark.
Attention today will be on this afternoon’s durable goods order data, expected to show a 2.5% decline in volume in October. With US markets closed tomorrow due to Thanksgiving, volatility could be amplified due to lack of liquidity.