British pound rallies on Johnson resignation

THE British pound rallied on Thursday on British Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s resignation as leader of the Conservative party.

Johnson’s announcement followed an extraordinary series of resignations from his scandal-plagued administration. He acknowledged it was “clearly the will of the parliamentary Conservative party that there should be a new leader of that party, and therefore a new prime minister.”

The move lifted the pound above the US$1.20 level.

“The currency market is relieved that Johnson is finally resigning, removing some of the political uncertainty that was priced into the pound and paving the way for a new prime minister,” said Victoria Scholar, head of investment at Interactive Investor. AFP