Pound rebounds on Brexit speech

The British pound rebounded above USD 1.23 today after Prime Minister Theresa May declared that any Brexit deal would be voted by parliament.
The London stock market fell further as the stronger pound weighed on share prices of multi-national firms.
Frankfurt and Paris both flirted with positive territory before slipping back into the red.
"The prime minister has adopted a more pragmatic approach to Brexit than expected, providing some much needed relief for the pound," NFS Macro analyst Nick Stamenkovic told AFP.
"Indeed, the surprise decision to allow parliament to decide on the final Brexit deal signals a more flexible approach."

Britain's parliament will be able to vote on any final Brexit agreement, Theresa May said today following pressure from lawmakers to have more say over leaving the European Union.

"I can confirm today that the government will put the final deal to a vote in both houses of parliament before it comes into force," she said in a hotly-anticipated speech.
The news sent the pound rallying to USD 1.2340 -- the highest level for ten days.
That compared with USD 1.21 just before the speech and USD 1.2055 late in New York yesterday.
"The pound took off like a rocket today on what amounts to a far less hawkish Brexit speech from Theresa May than many had feared," said ETX Capital analyst Neil Wilson.

Sterling had slumped Monday on reports that May was ready to take the country out of the EU in a so-called "hard" Brexit.
May said today that Britain will leave the EU's single market to restrict immigration in a clean break from the bloc.
"The bulk of what May said today had already been leaked so we actually learned very little from the speech," noted Oanda analyst Craig Erlam.
"The one point of interest was the revelation that parliament will vote on the deal which sent the pound higher and in turn, the FTSE lower given the inverse correlation between the two that has been so clear since the Brexit referendum.

"The pound has continue to rise since the speech."
The pound had collapsed yesterday to USD 1.1986, its lowest level since October's "flash crash" that had sent it to a 31-year low of USD 1.1841.
A hard Brexit would see Britain's departure from the single market or tariff-free zone, while also ending the free movement of people.