UK Pound Spikes as High Court Rules Against Gov't Triggering of Article 50

The UK pound rose over 1 percent against the dollar in the following hour, reaching $1.24 per pound compared to $1.23 per pound in early Thursday trading.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — The UK pound rallied on Thursday after a High Court ruling stipulating that the country's government does not have the power to trigger Article 50 of the European Union treaty to launch the Brexit process on its own.

Earlier in the day, the High Court ruled that the United Kingdom cannot trigger Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty without British lawmakers' approval. The case had been filed by the People’s Challenge group represented by the Bindmans law firm. The group argued that the move would be undemocratic and would violate the unwritten UK constitution. Hearings on the case began in October.

The pound rose over 1 percent against the dollar in the following hour, reaching $1.24 per pound compared to $1.23 per pound in early Thursday trading.

The rally against the euro was even higher at over 1.3 percent, with the pound's value rising from around 1.1 euros per pound to over 1.2 euros per pound.

Earlier in the year, the UK pound tumbled to its lowest value since the 1980s as a result of the June 23 Brexit referendum as fears of post-Brexit economic problems abounded. The currency fell from almost $1.5 per pound to around $1.3 per pound and fell further to around $1.2 per pound as Prime Minister Theresa May's government chose the "hard Brexit" path making EU single market access less likely.