GBP/AUD Can’t Avoid Worst YTD Week Despite Slight Gain

GBP/AUD is slightly advancing in early trading on Friday, but it doesn’t help the pair avoid the worst weekly performance in about two years. The price hasn’t seen any gain since Monday, and the chances are it will extend the downtrend by the end of the session after the UK Parliament votes the amended Withdrawal Agreement Bill (WAB) later today.

Currently, one British pound buys 1.8895 Australian dollars, up 0.08% as of 5:25 AM UTC. However, the pair has lost over 2.5% over the week, updating the monthly low and wasting election gains.

The pound’s mood started to change when UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson made it clear that he planned to rule out any extension of the Brexit transition deadline currently set for December 2020. The tight timeline increases the risks for a no-deal exit, which worries economists. The PM will put his deal to the vote in parliament in a few hours, and it seems he has little opposition. Johnson said:

“Today we will deliver on the promise we made to the people and get the Brexit vote wrapped up for Christmas. Then, at the beginning of the new decade, at the beginning of a new dawn for our country, our parliamentarians will return to Westminster to immediately finish the job, take us out of the EU on the 31st January and move this country forward.”

Yesterday, Queen Elizabeth outlined Johnson’s plans in a speech at the opening of the new parliament. She said that the PM’s top priority was to deliver the Brexit on January 31 and then reach a trade deal with the European Union (EU) and other leading economies.

At the same ceremony, Johnson announced his radical plan for quick Brexit. Besides, he discussed domestic changes, pledging to spend more on the National Health Service. He also promised better education, infrastructure, technology, and security as part of the “most radical reassessment of our place in the world since the end of the Cold War.”

The pound found some support after research firm GfK said that confidence among consumers and businesses increased to the highest level in five months. The indicator rose to -11 from -14 in November, which analysts expected no change.

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