Pound Falls As Trump Says May's Brexit Plan Dampens Chance Of U.S. Trade Deal

The pound drifted lower against its major opponents in the Asian session on Friday, as U.S. President Donald Trump remarked that Prime Minister Theresa May's current 'soft-Brexit' proposal with the EU would probably "kill" any future trade deals with the United States.

In an interview with The Sun, Trump said that PM's "soft Brexit" strategy would "affect trade with the United States, unfortunately in a negative way."

"If they do a deal like that, we would be dealing with the European Union instead of dealing with the U.K., so it will probably kill the deal," Trump told the paper.

Meanwhile, Asian stock markets were mostly higher as investors shifted focus to the upcoming corporate earnings season amid a lack of escalation in U.S.-China trade tensions.

China's trade grew by double digits in June despite mounting tensions with Washington, official data showed.

Exports climbed 11.3 percent year-over-year in dollar terms in June, faster than the expected rise of 9.5 percent. Imports advanced 14.1 percent from a year ago, well below economists' forecast for a growth of 21.3 percent.

The pound edged down to 1.3196 against the franc, from a high of 1.3238 seen at 5:55 pm ET. If the pound continues its fall, 1.30 is possibly seen as its next support level.

Reversing from an early high of 148.61 against the yen, the pound weakened to 148.13. The next likely support for the pound is seen around the 147.00 area.

Preliminary figures from the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry showed that Japan's industrial production declined as initially estimated in May.

Industrial production dropped a seasonally-adjusted 0.2 percent month-over-month in May, reversing 0.5 percent rise in the previous month.

Having advanced to 0.8834 against the euro at 5:00 pm ET, the pound reversed direction and weakened to a 2-day low of 0.8858. The pound is seen finding support around the 0.90 level.

The pound slipped to a 10-day low of 1.3151 against the dollar, following an advance to 1.3206 at 5:55 pm ET. On the downside, 1.30 is possibly seen as the next support level for the pound.

Looking ahead, U.S. export and import prices and University of Michigan's preliminary consumer sentiment index, as well as Canada existing home sales, all for June are due in the New York session.