Pound jumps as business chiefs push for certainty

BUSINESS leaders last night urged MPs to back Boris Johnson’s Brexit deal and lift the fog of uncertainty hanging over the economy.

As the pound headed for its best six-day run against the dollar since 1985, industry chiefs welcomed the Prime Minister’s agreement with the EU.

Sterling rose more than 1 per cent against the dollar to a fivemonth high of $1.2988 in the minutes after the deal was announced. That took gains since Mr Johnson’s meeting with Irish PM Leo Varadkar last week to per cent.

But sterling retreated as low as $1.27 5 at one point amid fears MPs might block the deal.

The City of London Corporation’s Catherine McGuinness urged ‘all those involved in the process to put an end to the sustained uncertainty that has left business with its hands tied’.

And Adam Marshall of the British Chambers of Commerce warned: ‘There is still a long way to go before businesses can confidently plan for the future.’