The British pound strengthened against the other major currencies in the Asian session on Friday, as Brexit fears eased following the murder of Labour MP Jo Cox and amid rising risk appetite.
The 41-year-old British lawmaker Jo Cox, was shot dead in the town of Birstall, northern England, in the early afternoon on Thursday. She was a fervent advocate of Britain remaining in Europe, as well as a champion of the poor and of Syrian refugees.
The murder of pro-EU British lawmaker raised speculation that the U.K. voters will be more likely to favor of Britain remaining in the European Union.
Both the “Remain” and “Leave” campaigns for the EU referendum were suspended yesterday following Cox’s death.
Meanwhile, Asian stocks are mostly higher as investors went bargain hunting after U.S. stocks snapped a five-day losing streak to close higher overnight. However, gains are muted in most markets amid concerns over next week’s Brexit vote. Crude oil prices rose in Asian trades after falling to a one-month low overnight.
Thursday, the pound fell against its major rivals amid uncertainty over the UK referendum next week on whether it should remain in the European Union lingered in the global market. The pound fell 0.56 percent against the U.S. dollar, 0.36 percent against the franc, 1.66 percent against the yen and 0.33 percent against the euro.
In the Asian trading, the pound rose to a 1-week high of 0.7874 against the euro, from yesterday’s closing value of 0.7901. The pound may test resistance around the 0.77 area.
Against the U.S. dollar and the Swiss franc, the pound advanced to 4-day highs of 1.4293 and 1.3795 from yesterday’s closing quotes of 1.4203 and 1.3703, respectively. If the pound extends its uptrend, it is likely to find resistance around 1.46 against the greenback and 1.41 against the franc.
The pound edged up to 149.78 against the yen, from yesterday’s closing value of 148.05. On the upside, 156.00 is seen as the next resistance level for the pound.
Looking ahead, Eurozone current account data for April is due to be released later in the day.
At 5:00 am ET, International Monetary Fund Managing Director Christine Lagarde will take part in panel discussion with Austrian Finance Minister Hans Joerg Schelling in Vienna.
At 7:45 am ET, European Central Bank board member Benoit Coeure is expected to speak at the International Conference on Structural Reforms in Advanced Economies, organized by Hertie School of Governance in Berlin.
In the New York session, Canada CPI and PPI data and U.S. building permits and housing starts, all for May, are slated for release.
At 11:00 am ET, European Central Bank President Mario Draghi is scheduled to deliver a speech in honor of Dr Theodor Waigel at conferral of signs and awards in Munich.
At 12:50 pm ET, Bank of Canada Senior Deputy Governor Carolyn Wilkins is expected to speak at the Canadian Payments Association, in Calgary.
The material has been provided by InstaForex Company – www.instaforex.com