Sterling on track for first weekly loss in a month after May's speech

Sterling widened its losses in American trade on Friday, on track for the first weekly loss in a month after press reports said that Britain could exit the European Union before 2019, and in her speech today in Italy, UK Prime Minister Theresa May said that companies and citizens need a period to adapt to a world where the United Kingdom is no more owned to the EU, adding that this transitional phase should be temporary and agreed upon as soon as possible.  

GBP/USD fell 0.7% from the opening of 1.3579, with an intraday high at 1.3596, and a low at 1.3488. 

The pound marked a 0.6% profit yesterday, the second such daily profit this week, after the dollar swooned against most rivals. 

The pound is down 0.5% so far this week against the dollar, heading for the first weekly profit in four on profit-taking, away from a 15-month high, as Brexit concerns resurface. 

A Telegraph report said that the UK could exit the EU before March 2019, stoking concerns about a hurried Brexit without reaching a final deal with the EU, even though it was ruled out by experts, who claimed that Brexit wouldn't happen without a bilateral deal between Britain and Europe. 

May encouraged both the British and European sides to reach practical and innovative solutions to the Brexit process, noting that these solutions should be beyond similar ones between the EU and other countries. 

May added that the future partnership between Britain and the EU can't be like the European Economic Zone, where commodities and people move freely, and shouldn't be akin to a simple trade deal like that with Canada. 

May asserted her country's commitment to its financial obligations towards the European Union, even though she didn't specify any numbers, while initial estimates from the EU put the cost at about $71.86 billion at minimum. 

Recent British media report said that the UK is ready to pay 20 billion euros for a transitional period of two years after Brexit. 

One of the main concerns for many EU members rests on the vacancy left by Britain in the European budget once it leaves the group officially in March 29, 2019. 

Sterling jumped to a 15-month high against the dollar on Wednesday at 1.3655, after UK retail sales rose past expectations in August, bolstering prospects of a British interest rate hike in the near future. 

Sterling registered a 3% profit last week, the largest such gain since October 2009, after Bank of England hinted at a possible rate hike for the first time in ten years as inflation accelerates.