- Title: Sterling consolidates after election surge - analyst view
- Date: 19th April 2017
- Summary: LONDON, ENGLAND, UK (APRIL 19, 2017) (REUTERS) (SOUNDBITE) (English) SENIOR ANALYST, HARGREAVES LANSDOWN, LAITH KHALAF, SAYING: "I think it (the UK economic outlook) is very difficult to pinpoint at this stage because we don't know what's going to happen in the election. If you look at what is expected at the moment, a stronger Conservative government, then actually I think markets would react quite positively to that. But there is still a lot of electioneering to go, and the one thing that we have learned recently is not to predict the outcome of political events."
- Embargoed: 3rd May 2017 13:47
- Keywords: brexit may electon sterling markets economy uk
- Location: LONDON, ENGLAND, UK / TUNBRIDGE WELLS, ENGLAND, UK
- City: LONDON, ENGLAND, UK / TUNBRIDGE WELLS, ENGLAND, UK
- Country: United Kingdom
- Topics: Economic Events
- Reuters ID: LVA0046D2DCUF
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text:Sterling hovered a cent below Tuesday's six-and-a-half month highs against the dollar on Wednesday (April 19), the jury still out on whether it can make more progress on the back of optimism around the shock calling of a June 8 parliamentary election.
Dealers said the pound's almost 4-cent surge in the previous session, half of it in U.S. trading time after London dealers had gone home, had likely cleared out a large portion of the record bearish bets against the currency that have dominated trading since the Brexit referendum last June.
The prospect of a stronger majority and longer term for Prime Minister Theresa May, ahead of the opposition Labour Party by 20 clear points in opinion polls, has spurred hope of a slower, more orderly departure from the European Union after 2019.
Separately, a survey of consumers showed inflation ate further into the budgets of British households last month, adding to signs that households will be feeling under pressure in the run-up to the June snap election planned by Prime Minister Theresa May.
Financial data company IHS Markit said on Wednesday that its Household Finance Index fell to 42.5 in April from 43.1 in March, one of its lowest readings since mid-2014. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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