GBP

Boris Johnson, the Brexiteer who has promised to lead Britain out of the European Union with or without a deal by the end of October, will replace Theresa May as Prime Minister after winning the leadership of the Conservative Party on Tuesday. Johnson, the face of the 2016 Brexit referendum, won the votes of 92,153 members of the Conservative party, almost twice the 46,656 won by his rival, Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt.

His convincing victory catapults the United Kingdom towards a showdown with the EU and towards a constitutional crisis at home, as British lawmakers have vowed to bring down any government that tries to leave the bloc without a divorce deal. The victory for one of Britain’s most flamboyant politicians places a staunch Brexit supporter in charge of the government for the first time since the United Kingdom voted to leave the EU in the shock 2016 referendum.

USD

Yesterday the dollar rose to near a five-week high after President Donald Trump and U.S. lawmakers reached a two-year deal that raises the limits on government borrowing to cover spending. The agreement averted another partial government shutdown. A 35-day shutdown between December and January led to a furlough of 800,000 federal workers and cost the economy about $3 billion. An increase in U.S. borrowing would trim funds in the banking system, which is seen supportive for the greenback. The dollar’s appeal got a boost after the International Monetary Fund raised its forecast on U.S. growth in 2019 to 2.6% while lowering its overall global growth outlook to 3.2% for this year.

Key Announcements

08.30 – EUR: German Flash Manufacturing PMI; Forecast at 45.1 against previous of 45.0
08.30 – EUR: German Flash Services PMI; Forecast at 55.3 against previous of 55.8