Pound to Euro exchange rate: Sterling recovers as MPs move to block no-deal Brexit

The pound came under renewed pressure after the government moved to prorogue parliament for five weeks.
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Rebecca Speare-Cole4 September 2019

The pound has bounced back after traders cheered Boris Johnson's defeat in Parliament as rebel MPs moved to block a no-deal Brexit.

Sterling jumped higher against the dollar and euro on Wednesday morning after Tory rebels backed opposition parties to allow them to take control of business in the Commons.

The value of the pound rose 0.48 per cent to 1.214 against the dollar while it jumped 0.35 per cent to 1.105 against the euro.

It came after the pound slid to a three-year low of less than 1.20 on Tuesday as investors braced themselves for a turbulent day in Westminster.

MPs have voted to seize control of the Commons agenda  
VIA REUTERS

On Wednesday, MPs will debate draft legislation put forward by a cross-party group which would require a delay to Brexit unless there was a deal or Parliament explicitly backed leaving the EU without one by October 19.

A vote on a general election could be held later in the day.

Keir Starmer says Labour will not vote for snap general election today

Market analysts have warned that although ruling out a no-deal Brexit would steady the pound, a snap election could also cause significant volatility in the currency.

Neil Wilson, chief market analyst at Markets.com, said: "The pound edged higher as Boris Johnson's Brexit strategy appeared in disarray.

"The move higher only serves to underscore the kind of headline risk and volatility we can expect to see over the coming weeks which will make sterling a tough currency to trade."

Ipek Ozkardeskaya, senior market analyst at London Capital Group, said: "Johnson's defeat gave a breather to the pound markets, although the game is not over yet for the GBP bears.

"Boris Johnson could announce a snap election by October 14 to seek support from British voters to get the Brexit done, with or without a deal.

"An election as early as next month could give another shake to the sterling, but even a tiny hope of preventing Johnson from crashing out of the EU without a deal could help the currency consolidating support near the 1.20 level against the US dollar and eventually recovering a part of the recent weakness."

Sterling also benefited from rises in the Asian markets overnight, with the Hong Kong-based Hang Seng equity market rising 1.2 per cent on the back of strong technology stocks