The Pound Sterling was firm during trading in London as British legislatures prepare to resume their negotiations with officials from the European Union on a resolution for trade across Ireland's border. Since early January, the Pound has been able to recover about 4% of its value, largely on expectations that the country will be able to avoid a no-Brexit scenario, but also because of general weakness in the US Dollar. Whether or not the Prime Minister does get any concessions from the EU, there is some support for the Pound on the back of upcoming Parliamentary debates for Brexit-related amendments.
As reported at 11:19 am (GMT) in London, the GBP/USD was trading higher at $1.3128, up 0.0945%; the pair has ranged from a peak of $1.3157 to a low of $1.3107 in today's trading day. The EUR/GBP was trading at 0.8745 Pence, down 0.072%; the pair is moving off the session trough of 0.87317 Pence while the peak was recorded at 0.87650 Pence.
Markets Look to US Labor Data
In the Eurozone, Eurostat reported that preliminary GDP figures for the 4th quarter of 2018 were essentially flat on a quarter-over-quarter basis at 0.2% and lower but meeting expectations on a year-over-year basis at 1.2%, falling from the last reading of 1.6%. The EUR/USD is trading at $1,1483, up 0.0174%; the pair has ranged from $1.14717 to $1.15143 in today's trading session. Markets will be focusing on tomorrow's release of US Non-farms Payroll figures for January; yesterday's release of ADP figures was unexpectedly upbeat, falling from the previous reading but well above analysts' predictions, giving hope to investors that the Labor Department's figures will follow suit.