Brexit bounce: Expert explains why pound could be among world’s STRONGEST currencies
THE BRITISH POUND could be among the world’s strongest currencies if we can get a Brexit deal through the House of Commons, Richard Buxton, head of UK equities at Merian Global Investors told Express.co.uk.
In the run-up to the EU referendum, many predicted that the decision to leave Brussels would have triggered instant recession. However, with the 0.3pc expansion reported on Monday, Britain has now had 13 quarters of economic growth since the 2016 plebiscite. In other words, the UK economy has grown faster than Germany, France and the eurozone as a whole for most of the last two years.
During a recent event, organised by The Spectator, Richard Buxton, head of UK equities at Merian Global Investors, claimed that if we can get the Brexit deal through the House of Commons, the outlook for the UK economy is an extremely good one.
He said: “I actually think that by the second half of next year the Bank of England will even have to gently nudge interest rates up. “I think it will just be symptomatic of the fact that the UK, relatively to other parts of Europe, will be growing really quite nicely.”
Mr Buxton argued that the British pound could even be among the world’s strongest currencies in the near future, given the right circumstances. He said: “The Bank Credit Analyst, a magazine I long followed, said recently that on a five year view Sterling could be one of their strongest performing currencies. “This is given the right set of circumstances.“This is why this election is so crucial.”
Mr Buxton claimed that uncertainty and the fear of Corbyn are what really damaged the UK economy, rather than Brexit itself, as investors compltely shunned the country. However, Mr Buxton noted, the most strategic investors still saw Britain as an asset.The head of UK equities said: “Hong Kong’s richest man bought Greene King recently.
“Without knowing where Brexit was going to finish. “He could just tell that it is an undervalued asset, with an undervalued currency. He concluded: “I feel that this Brexit thing has been like a handbrake for the last 12, 15 months in the UK. “We just get clarity through this crucial election, and we literally take the handbrake off.“Some sort of Brexit bounce through the second half of 2020 into 2021 I am absolutely confident will take place.
15th November 2019 | By Martina Bet