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The pound made significant gains against the US dollar on Tuesday morning after the European Court of Justice’s (ECJ) advocate general said that the UK is within its rights to revoke Article 50 and back out of Brexit without the approval of the EU or member states.
Sterling rallied by 0.7% to a high of $1.2817 and even made a small gain against the euro, with the pound climbing 0.35% to around €1.1242.
It is worth mentioning that Sterling’s rise against the dollar is partly due to the greenback seeing its strength wane against many major currencies with the dollar index falling by 0.4% to a 10-day low of 96.573.
Britain could still bail on Brexit
Proponents for Britain to remain in the EU will have renewed hope after advocate general Campos Sánchez-Bordona told ECJ judges that the UK is legally allowed to unilaterally revoke the Article 50 exit clause and put an end to Brexit.
The advocate general’s advice follows anti-Brexit campaigners arguing to the ECJ that the UK reserves the right to back away from its two-year exit process that began when UK Prime Minister Theresa May triggered Article 50 on 29 March 2017.
No turning back for Britain
In response, lawyers from the EU Commission and European Council have argued that if Britain did intend to revoke Article 50 and bring an end to the Brexit process it would first require the support of the EU27 to dissuade other member states from abusing the exit process for their own gain.
However, the UK government was quick to point out that the advocate general’s legal opinion is irrelevant, as it has no intention of cancelling the Brexit process despite it creating major uncertainty for business.
‘Our main issue at the moment is the uncertainty around Brexit and the way it’s been dealt with, which has had a knock-on effect in terms of retailers and the ability to prepare adequately or take precautions against risk factors,’ Director of Sanctuary Bathrooms said.
‘Some suppliers are already increasing their prices in 2019, which mean it’s going to be unavoidable for customers to avoid price increases across a number of different industries.’
‘In terms of our own ambitions for the New Year, we’re still looking for a positive and modest growth and we’re optimistic that despite Brexit, we’ll still see footfall and trading at similar levels but I think everyone is wary about what the next 3 months may bring – you can’t prepare long-term at this moment in time,’ he added.
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