Breaking: GBP/USD falls below 1.2600 as May announces delay of the vote, is called to quit

Yohay Elam FXStreet

UK Prime Minister Theresa May confirmed the deference of the vote in the House of Commons on the Brexit vote. She admitted that there is no majority. She said she will go back to emergency talks in Brussels, to secure assurances.

Opposition leader Jeremy Corbyn criticized the government and called May and the government to resign. He said there will be no point in bringing the same deal to parliament again.

Speaker of the House Bercow explains the procedure to delay the vote.

GBP/USD hit a new low below 1.2600. Here is how it looks on the chart. 1.2500 is the next line of support. Sterling is trading at the lowest levels since April 2017. The low at the time of writing is 1.2506.

GBPUSD diving on Becrow May December 10 2018

-- more to come

GBP/USD dropped sharply earlier in the day after reports came out about a delay in the vote. Cable fell to a low of 1.2605, the lowest since June 2017.

The government faced defeat on the accord that PM May reached with the European Union. The Irish backstop has been the main sticking point for both hardline members of the Conservative Party as well as the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) of Northern Ireland, on which the Tories rely for support in the House of Commons.

Irish Taoiseach (PM) Leo Varadkar said the deal could not be renegotiated. European officials in Brussels echoed these words.

Author

Yohay Elam

FXStreet

Yohay is in Forex since 2008 when he founded Forex Crunch, a blog crafted in his free time that turned into a fully-fledged currency website later sold to Finixio.

AUD/USD remains depressed near 0.6950 after RBA minutes

AUD/USD attracts follow-through selling during Tuesday’s Asian session, looking to extend the overnight rejection slide from 0.7000, or a two-week top, following the release of RBA meeting Minutes. The US Dollar retains a bullish undertone near its highest level since April 2025 as energy-driven inflation risks keep December Fed rate hike bets firmly on the table. Adding to this, geopolitical risks further underpin the safe-haven USD.

USD/JPY eases from two-week top, hovers near 158.50 amid looming intervention risk

USD/JPY edges lower during the Asian session on Tuesday, snapping a two-day winning streak and pulling back from an over two-week top touched the previous day, despite Japan's soft PPI print. Bulls turn cautious amid speculation that authorities will step in to prop up the Japanese Yen, which, in turn, weighs on the currency pair. The downside, however, seems limited as the US Dollar stands firm near its highest level since April 2025, bolstered by the hawkish Fed and geopolitical uncertainties.

Gold struggles above $4.150 as bullish USD and elevated bond yields weigh

Gold remains depressed during the Asian session on Tuesday as elevated US Treasury yields and a hawkish Fed keep the US Dollar near its highest level since April 2025. Adding to this, persistent geopolitical uncertainties stemming from Middle East conflicts continue to underpin the safe-haven buck, which, in turn, is seen as weighing on the bullion. Traders now look to US inflation figures for some impetus ahead of Fed Chair Kevin Warsh's appearance on Friday.

Bitcoin shows bottoming signs despite recent macro pressures

Bitcoin remained range-bound above $82,000 on Monday as upcoming US economic data and onchain indicators weigh on market sentiment. Crypto trading firm QCP Group stated in its Monday report that Bitcoin has maintained a firmer footing a year after the market’s largest single-day liquidation event.

Earnings preview US and Europe: Can the stock market rally continue?

Stocks have been remarkably resilient this year. They have navigated geopolitical turmoil, an energy price spike and surging global bond yields which is rapidly pushing up the cost of borrowing. US blue chip stocks are now in their 4th year of a bull market, however, they now face their toughest test of Q4 so far, the latest earnings updates.

Has Bitcoin really escaped the macro forces it was built to fight?

Over 17 years ago, Satoshi Nakamoto designed Bitcoin (BTC) on the back of a global financial crisis as an alternative to the global monetary system outside the control of central banks, governments and traditional intermediaries. This raises a key question: has Bitcoin really become independent of the macroeconomic forces it was built to challenge?