- Disappointing data from China weigh on global market sentiment.
- European stocks post modest losses on Wednesday.
- Brexit Secretary Barclay says Brexit vote will take place in early June.
After closing the previous day virtually unchanged near 141.50, the GBP/JPY pair came under a renewed selling pressure on Wednesday and slumped to its lowest level since late January at140.96. As of writing, the pair was down 0.16% on a daily basis at 141.19.
Earlier today, retail sales and industrial production data from China both came worse than market expectations and revived concerns over the negative impact of the Chinese economy losing growth momentum on the global outlook to trigger a new wave of flight-to-safety.
Reflecting the sour mood, major European equity indexes in Europe started the day in the negative territory and struggled to make a meaningful recovery. As of writing, Germany’s DAX and the Euro Stoxx 50 were both losing more than 0.5% on the day.
On Brexit-related headlines, British Brexit Secretary Barclay announced that they were planning to have the Brexit vote in parliament in the first week of June. When asked if this is the last chance to pass the withdrawal bill, “If commons rejects it then the Barnier deal is dead,” Barclay stated. Meanwhile, earlier in the day, Conservatives Party Lawmaker Paterson that the Eurosceptic in his party will vote against the government’s Brexit deal.
Technical levels to watch for