LONDON MARKETS: British Pound Edges Higher As Supreme Court Hears Brexit Case

By Steve Goldstein, MarketWatch

UK court case expected to take several days

The British pound was higher on Tuesday as the Supreme Court heard a case over whether Prime Minister Boris Johnson's move to suspend Parliament before the country was due to leave the European Union was legal.

Lawyer David Pannick, who represents one of the campaigners challenging the government, told 11 Supreme Court judges that Johnson had improperly suspended the legislature "to silence Parliament ... because he sees Parliament as an obstacle to the furtherance of his political aims."

The pound tends to rise when traders assess the odds of Brexit are falling, and fall when the odds of a departure rise. On Betfair (https://www.betfair.com/exchange/plus/politics/market/1.156586178), the market was pricing in just 22% chance of a no-deal Brexit this year. The pound reached $1.2435 from $1.2430 on Monday.

The FTSE 100 meanwhile was little moved, as it rose 0.04% to 7324.48.

Cruise operator Carnival (CCL.LN) struggled as oil prices held onto most of the record-setting gains after the Saudi Arabia attack, while Royal Dutch Shell (RDSA.LN) rose for a second day.

-- The Associated Press contributed to this article

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

September 17, 2019 09:47 ET (13:47 GMT)

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