Pound Climbs On Long Brexit Delay Hopes

The pound strengthened against its major counterparts in the Asian session on Friday on renewed Brexit optimism, after media reports that European Council President Donald Tusk is considering to provide a one-year "flexible" extension for the U.K. to leave the European Union.

Tusk's proposal would enable the U.K. to quit the bloc earlier, if Parliament ratifies the withdrawal agreement before the 12-month period.

The plan has to be agreed by EU leaders at a summit next week.

May and Corbyn have held two days of intense talks and is set to meet again on Friday to break the deadlock.

On Wednesday, the Commons passed a bill to force May to ask for an extension to Brexit deadline, due on April 12.

The pound advanced to 146.55 against the yen, from a low of 145.85 hit at 5:30 pm ET. The next possible resistance for the pound is seen around the 148.5 level.

Data from the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications showed that the average of household spending in Japan rose 1.7 percent on year in February, coming in at 271,232 yen.

That missed expectations for a gain of 1.9 percent following the 2.0 percent increase in January.

The pound climbed to 1.3122 against the greenback, after falling to 1.3066 at 5:30 pm ET. The pound is seen finding resistance around the 1.33 area.

Having dropped to 1.3061 against the franc at 5:00 pm ET, the pound reversed direction and appreciated to 1.3120. The pound is likely to challenge resistance around the 1.33 level.

The pound reversed from an early low of 0.8587 against the euro, rising to 0.8557. On the upside, 0.84 is possibly seen as the next resistance level for the pound.

Looking ahead, U.K. Halifax house prices for March are due in the European session.

In the New York session, U.S. and Canadian jobs data for March and U.S. consumer credit for February are slated for release.