Private DCN Private DCN - Sterling

GBP: Brexit election called for 8th June 2017

By Ricky Bean April 20th, 2017

Sterling remained at elevated levels following the surprise announcement on Tuesday that a motion for a snap election would be put forward by May. Yesterday, the House of Commons backed the movement by a margin of 522 votes to 13, way above the two-thirds majority required.

The next general election had not been expected until 2020, following the Fixed Term Parliaments Act, although a clause within it allowed for snap elections to be held earlier if it had the aforementioned majority in the House of Commons or there was a vote of no confidence. The election will be held exactly seven weeks from today.

The economic docket has been quiet this week, although as we move into the final two trading sessions of the week, we could see further currency swings.

Today, Bank of England Governor Mark Carney is due to speak at the Institute of International Finance Policy Summit in Washington DC. The market will be keen to see if he references the snap election. Finally, tomorrow, UK retail sales figures for March are due for release.