The Pound Sterling has enjoyed and Archimedes-esque Eureka moment. Hopefully, it won’t be caught short running nude through the street to brag to its head of state anytime soon… For the first time in a good while (if not ever) it has been the words of Jeremy Corbyn that kick started the rise in value within the domestic currency. Corbyn, around 11:25, proclaimed to an audience of Labour Party activists in Hastings that a second referendum “was on the table”. Alongside confirmation from Downing Street this morning that the Prime Minister will allow informal votes to gauge confidence on her Plan B(s) on Monday, the rhetoric from Corbyn suggested that Brexit Referendum II could gather a majority. Accordingly, markets raced to reward the Pound with an additional 25 basis points of value – as seen within GBPEUR below.
HSBC publicly announced that they are shifting their stance towards Sterling to bullish, willing to hold long positions on the Pound. Analysts at HSBC have suggested that should a second referendum occur and should the public vote to abandon Brexit, the Pound could rally by as much as 20%. The forecasts certainly seem optimistic, however, these perceptions do contribute towards understanding an appetite for British assets at different outcomes of the Brexit impasse.
Discussion and Analysis by Charles Porter
Click Here to Subscribe to the SGM-FX Newsletter
Related Insights
Daily Brief – Defiance
Charles Porter
Tue 12 May 2026
Defiance Yesterday’s market was defying one of two things: logic or gravity. Come to think of it, perhaps both. Take cable, GBPUSD, yesterday. The key events beyond minor data releases centred around any chatter from either side of the Iranian conflict and Starmer singing for his supper. Sing he did and tweet the President did, […]
Daily Brief – Short-lived relief rally
Charles Porter
Tue 19 May 2026
Short-lived relief rally A tantrum in the bond market has continued to erode away at risk conditions in recent sessions. In the UK, the sell-off in gilts and corporate bonds has been particularly acute thanks to heightened political instability, the origins of which we have covered thoroughly in recent briefings. Yesterday, headlines delivered enough optimism […]
Daily Brief – Room to manoeuvre
Charles Porter
Tue 26 May 2026
Room to manoeuvre Kevin Warsh was sworn into office at the White House on Friday. Despite limited market movement on Friday, many prices gapped significantly come the open yesterday. Whilst the UK and US observed a bank holiday yesterday, many indices and currencies were on the move. The theme across the market was risk on […]
