The Pound (GBP) exchange rate is forecast to soften against several of its major peers over on Friday night as Members of Parliament prepare to vote on whether the UK will commit to launching military action against the Islamic State.
Prime Minister David Cameron pleaded his case for the country for UK military intervention in Iraq and possibly Syria in order to destroy the Jihadists of the Islamic State (IS). The parliamentary vote is due to take place at 17:00pm GMT.
Mr Cameron said that British ground forces would not be deployed in a combat role. Instead, the fighting would be limited to airstrikes carried out by Cyprus based Royal Air Force Tornado jets. The majority of the fighting will be left to Iraqi and Kurdish ground troops.
The government is expected to win the vote comfortably as the opposition Labour Party and coalition partners from the Liberal Democrats are expected to vote in favour of the action.
Traders were growing jittery ahead of the vote on concerns that the launching of air attacks in Iraq could lead to military action extending to neighbouring Syria.
Mr Cameron made his case for UK military action by saying that the killing of a British hostage illustrated that the challenge was not “on the far side of the world” and the “brutal, terrorist organisation” was a “clear and proven” threat to UK lives.
“Is there a threat to the British people? The answer is yes,” Cameron, told parliament, saying he thought action would need to last “years” to be effective. “This is not a threat on the far side of the world. Left unchecked we will face a terrorist caliphate on the shores of the Mediterranean and bordering a NATO member, with a declared and proven intention to attack our country and our people.”
As the vote approached, the Pound eased against the Euro and fell further against the US Dollar.
Pound Sterling (GBP) Exchange Rate Forecast
Sterling is likely to remain at current levels against the Euro and US Dollar over the weekend but is likely to make further gains on Monday against the single currency due to the release of a number of Eurozone Confidence reports.
Declines in Business or Consumer confidence will increase concerns over the strength of the Eurozone economy. Sterling meanwhile will experience movement because of Mortgage Lending data.
Pound (GBP) Exchange Rates
[table width=”100%” colwidth=”50|50|50|50|50″ colalign=”left|left|left|left|left”]
Currency, ,Currency,Rate ,
Pound Sterling,
,US Dollar,1.6247 ,
Pound Sterling,,Euro,1.2792 ,
Pound Sterling,,Australian Dollar,1.8516 ,
Pound Sterling,,New Zealand Dollar,2.0633 ,
US Dollar,,Pound Sterling,0.6157 ,
Euro,, Pound Sterling ,0.7809 ,
Australian Dollar,, Pound Sterling ,0.5399 ,
New Zealand Dollar,, Pound Sterling,0.4854 ,
[/table]
