Pound falls as focus turns to Brexit

LONDON - 20 August 2018: Sterling fell on Monday as the dollar rebounded and investors shifted their focus to impending talks that may decide whether Britain gets a trade deal with the European Union before it quits the bloc.

The pound has suffered six straight weeks of losses against the dollar, its worst run since 2014, even though data such as retail sales suggest the UK economy is holding up.

With less than eight months to go until Britain leaves the EU, the government has yet to agree with Brussels the terms of its departure, and some hedge funds have started betting against the currency.

Analysts say sterling, which has shed 12 percent of its value since April, will remain vulnerable to the vagaries of Brexit negotiations in the months ahead.

“The price of the pound continues to reflect Brexit concerns and an economy that’s at best muddling through,” WorldFirst head of FX strategy Jeremy Cook said. “The limelight is elsewhere right now and there’s plenty of places people would rather be investing than sterling.”

At 0820 GMT, the pound was down 0.1 percent against the dollar at $1.2733, near a 14-month low of $1.2662. It was up 0.1 percent versus the euro at 89.61 pence per euro.

The euro slipped on Monday as the dollar gained before proposed trade talks between the United States and China this week that investors hope will ease tensions between the world’s two biggest economies.

Meanwhile, business leaders’ confidence in the British economy has fallen to its lowest point this year, reflecting uncertainty about Brexit, according to a survey published on Monday.