The U.S. dollar remained weak against many of its rivals Wednesday following new economic data a day after inflation figures failed to provide support. Meanwhile, the British pound climbed versus its main rivals after the U.K. Parliament rejected a no-deal Brexit on March 29.
Lawmakers rejected the idea for the U.K. to leave the European Union without a trade deal in place at the end of the month, in line with market expectations.
It follows Tuesday’s rejection of Prime Minister Theresa May’s deal for a second time. Since the first rejection in January, May had received additional assurances from the European Union with regards to the treatment of Northern Ireland’s border with the Republic of Ireland, but it wasn’t enough to sway the vote in her favor. May’s loss also reintroduced talk of fresh elections in all the drama.
Read: Theresa May’s Brexit Deal Defeated Again—‘A Waste of Two Years’
Brexit Brief: So what next? A Brexit Q&A
Sterling GBPUSD, -0.0975% had been trading higher throughout the session against both the U.S. dollar and the euro, but spiked to a session-high of $1.3282 on the results of the vote.
The U.K. currency last bought $1.3254, compared with $1.3073 late Tuesday.
On Thursday, Parliament will vote on an extension of the March 29 Brexit deadline, completing this week’s key votes.
Meanwhile, the U.K.’s Office of Budget Responsibility confirmed in their Spring Statement that the immediate prospects of the U.K. economy were poor. Gross domestic product growth for 2019 was revised down to 1.2%, from 1.6% before.
In the U.S., the dollar slipped for yet another day, as recent economic data, including Tuesday’s consumer-price index, failed to provide a catalyst to the upside. The ICE U.S. Dollar Index DXY, -0.51% was down 0.5% at 96.488.
The producer-price index didn’t help matters on Wednesday, as the reading for February came in at 0.1%, just below expectations. Over the past 12 months, the PPI rose 1.9%, versus 2% before.
In other data, core capital goods orders rose 0.8% in January, while durable-goods orders increased 0.4%. Construction spending for January came in at an upbeat 1.9%, compared with 0.5% expected.
In other currencies, the euro EURUSD, +0.0530% showed sensitivity to the Brexit showdown as well, though much of it was confined to the euro-sterling pair EURGBP, +0.1295% Against the dollar, the shared currency was marginally stronger at $1.1334, compared with $1.1289 late Tuesday, while it bought £0.8547, down 1%, against the pound.
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