SINGAPORE (Oct 17): The British pound rallied and UK stocks turned higher as Britain and the European Union on Thursday finally reached a historic Brexit deal.
“Where there is a will, there is a deal – we have one!” says European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker. “It’s a fair and balanced agreement for the EU and the UK and it is testament to our commitment to find solutions. I recommend that [the EU summit] endorses this deal.”
"It’s a deal!” says Craig Erlam, senior market analyst, UK & EMEA at OANDA. “In typical eleventh hour fashion, the UK and EU have agreed a new Brexit deal, sending the pound soaring to seven month highs against the dollar.”
The agreement, which comes after three years of negotiations, paves the way for Britain to finally break its 46-year-old ties to the EU.
“We have a great new deal that takes back control,” says British Prime Minister Boris Johnson. “Now Parliament should get Brexit done on Saturday so we can move on to other priorities like the cost of living, the NHS, violent crime and our environment.”
However, the withdrawal agreement still has to be ratified in the UK Parliament, where Johnson lacks a majority.
Northern Ireland’s Democratic Unionist Party, which had earlier refused to back a deal, is yet to comment, according to Bloomberg.
The DUP’s support is said to be crucial if Johnson is to get a deal through Westminster.
“Anyone hoping that the process will be straightforward now is kidding themselves,” OANDA’s Erlam adds. “It's going to be a wild weekend which will make the market open next week all the more unpredictable. If the deal gets through Parliament, the pound could perform extremely well at the start of next week, despite having already rebounded more than 8% from the lows a month ago.”
