Sterling gyrates on speculation ahead of Theresa May’s crucial vote

Luke MacGregor | Bloomberg | Getty Images

A screen shows the trajectory of the pound ahead of the U.K. parliament Brexit deal vote as a trader monitors financial data on computer screens.

Sterling fluctuated Monday morning with traders reacting to various media reports ahead of a series of crunch Brexit votes this week.

The pound initially fell to a three-week low versus the dollar after a report suggested Prime Minister Theresa May could alter a vote scheduled for Tuesday evening. The U.K. leader was expected to hold a second “meaningful” vote on her Brexit withdrawal agreement, after the first back in January saw her plans rejected by a large majority of U.K. lawmakers.

But U.K. newspaper The Sun, a tabloid that is also the most read in the country, said that she is being urged to downgrade the vote to make it purely symbolic. Sterling slipped to 1.296 against the greenback at around 9:30 a.m. London time after trading near $1.301.

However, shortly afterwards a pro-Remain lawmaker, Yvette Cooper from the opposition Labour party, said the U.K. Parliament could wrest control of Brexit if May failed to find a consensus with her vote on Tuesday. The pound rose on the comments, pushing back up to $1.300.