UK gilts jump post Prime Minister May’s speech, expectations of a fall in March retail sales

The UK gilts jumped after the country’s Prime Minister Theresa May delivered her speech in Westminster today, calling for an early election on June 8, saying the government had the right plan for negotiating the terms of Britain's exit from the European Union and she needed political unity in London. 

The yield on the benchmark 10-year gilts, which moves inversely to its price, plunged 2-1/2 basis points to 1.02 percent, the super-long 30-year bond yields also slumped nearly 2-1/2 basis points to 1.63 percent while the yield on the short-term 2-year traded 1 basis point lower at 0.10 percent by 10:10 GMT.

Theresa May has announced a snap general election to give Britain the 'strong and stable leadership' needed to deliver Brexit. In her shock announcement, she blasted opposition parties for trying to frustrate Brexit and said she was not prepared to let them 'endanger the security of millions of working people'.

Meanwhile, the FTSE 100 fell 0.58 percent or 41.73 points to 7,289.95 by 10:20 GMT, while at 10:00GMT, the FxWirePro's Hourly Pound Strength Index remained neutral at -1.14 (a reading above +75 indicates a bullish trend, while that below -75 a bearish trend). For more details, visit http://www.fxwirepro.com/currencyindex