The pound remained steady on Wednesday as investors continued to wait for further developments in the polls. The Labour Party manifesto was released earlier today and the impact of this in the polls will become clear in the coming days. However, the pound did slip 0.03% after Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn performed better than expected in Tuesday evening’s televised debate. Markets would have preferred a clear victory for Prime Minister Boris Johnson.
The Conservative Party still hold a commanding lead in the polls which is still the main factor behind pound strength.
GBPUSD opened at 1.2914 and was fairly stable on the day, only making very slight gains in the afternoon to close at 1.2920
GBPEUR opened at 1.1668 and made some minor gains across the day, closing higher at 1.1675
The dollar made gains on Wednesday after increased safe-haven demand due to doubts that “phase one” of the US-China trade deal would not be completed this year. That would mean tariffs set to come into place in mid-December would not be rolled back. The dollar index gained 0.1% against six major currencies.
The trade negotiations are ongoing with the most recent escalation in rhetoric coming on the back of the US Senate demanding that Hong Kong’s autonomy be certified annually and warned against China suppressing protestors.
The Australian dollar fell 0.44% against the its US rival as trade exposed currencies felt the effects of increased trade barriers.
EURUSD opened at 1.1068 and hit an early afternoon low of 1.1055 before rising in the afternoon to close slightly lower on the day at 1.1064
