British Pound Sinks On Truss Turmoil

10/21/2022

1 minute read

2022.10.21 13:12

The British pound is showing strong volatility in the wake of Prime Minister’s Truss resignation. Truss resigned on Thursday after just 44 days in office, and the pound jumped as much as 1% before paring most of the gains. The reality of the political maelstrom engulfing the UK has set in and has plunged 1.1% today. The currency has touched a low of 1.1100, its lowest level since October 13th.

The deep political crisis in the UK has seen two prime ministers resign in just two months and leaves the Conservatives in turmoil. The Conservatives will elect a new leader next week and fortunately for them, they do not need to call an election for two more years. Still, Truss’s brief period as prime minister has caused political and financial chaos, and the new leader will have their work cut out to establish some semblance of normality for the country after the circus over the past few weeks.

The Bank of England meets on November 3rd and with inflation climbing back into double digits, the Bank has little choice but to continue delivering oversize rates. Policy makers will likely be deliberating between a 0.75% and a full-point hike, which could give the beleaguered pound a much-needed boost.

The Federal Reserve has signaled that it plans to remain aggressive, as priority number one remains the fight against soaring inflation. This hawkish position was outlined by Philadelphia Federal Reserve President Patrick Harker on Thursday. Harker was blunt, saying that the Fed’s rate hikes had failed to curb inflation and that rates would continue to rise “for a while”. He added that rates would be “well above” 4% by the end of the year. Currently, the benchmark is at 3.25%, with the Fed holding its next meeting on November 2nd. The markets have received the message loud and clear, pricing in two more 0.75% increases in November and December.