FX round-up: Sterling fails to follow US dollar higher

Sterling failed to benefit from the downdraft in Europe's single currency amid news that Brussels was weighing toughening its stance in the ongoing Brexit talks.

According to a person familiar with matter cited by Bloomberg, the European Union would not threaten to stop negotiations.

However, it was mulling the need to issue a more forceful warning that plans for a transition period might fall through if Westminster could not provide a detailed plan for keeping the Irish border open after it left the bloc.

In particular, the EU was said to be pushing for greater clarity on the UK's plans before a meeting of EU leaders scheduled for June.

Against that backdrop, cable lost 0.43% to finish at 1.32537, even as investors piled into Gilts to reduce their exposure to Italian assets and those from the euro area more generally.

News over the bank holiday that a fledgeling governing coalition in Italy had broken down and that the country might be headed back to the polls after August saw euro/dollar retreat 0.77% to 1.15358.

Local press reports pointed to either September or October as the most likely month for a new vote, although some were speculating with the possibility of new elections for as soon as 29 July.

Meanwhile, and in typical 'risk-off' fashion, dollar/yen was down by 0.72% at 108.63 as the US dollar spot climbed 0.46% to end the day at 94.850.

However, the Greenback was lower against the Turkish lira, slipping 0.80% to 4.5469.

Triggering the move in the lira, the day before rate-setters in Ankara announced they would shift the target of their monetary policy to the one-week repurchase rate, effective 1 June.

Some market commentary billed the announcement as a welcome simplification of Turkey's monetary policy framework.

However, Capital Economics believed it was most likely so that they could hike market interest rates if needed, without incurring the wrath of the country's President, Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

"The decision by Turkey’s central bank to begin using the one-week repo rate as its key policy tool looks less like an effort to simplify its monetary policy framework (as has been suggested by some), and more like a way to create room to raise market interest rates if necessary without incurring the wrath of President Erdogan."