MARKET NEWS
Pound reverses early fall as UK finance minister says budget due March 11 - REUTERS
(Reuters) - Sterling reversed its earlier losses on Tuesday and hit a session high against the dollar at $1.3040 after UK Chancellor Rishi Sunak said in a tweet that the annual budget would be unveiled on March 11 as planned.
The pound had fallen early in the day, spooked by conflicting views from Britain and the European Union on how to proceed with trade negotiations, though the currency’s losses were curbed by strong labour market data.
By 1115 GMT the pound was up 0.3% against the dollar and rose by a similar amount against the euro at 83.05 pence.
Viraj Patel, a strategist at Arkera brokerage said buy orders had likely been triggered around $1.30, adding “(Sunak’s) tweet may have been catalyst for a few long bets that took us above $1.30”.
Last week, the pound enjoyed its best week in two months after Rishi Sunak’s appointment as Britain’s finance minister was interpreted as heralding a significant loosening in fiscal conditions.
Reporting by Sujata Rao; Editing by Ritvik Carvalho