diff --git a/hledger-lib/Hledger/Read/JournalReader.hs b/hledger-lib/Hledger/Read/JournalReader.hs
index 43a4dc786..f962f9c65 100644
--- a/hledger-lib/Hledger/Read/JournalReader.hs
+++ b/hledger-lib/Hledger/Read/JournalReader.hs
@@ -493,7 +493,7 @@ secondarydatep primarydate = do
   return edate
 
 status :: GenParser Char JournalContext Bool
-status = try (do { many1 spacenonewline; (char '*' <|> char '!') <?> "status"; return True } ) <|> return False
+status = try (do { many spacenonewline; (char '*' <|> char '!') <?> "status"; return True } ) <|> return False
 
 codep :: GenParser Char JournalContext String
 codep = try (do { many1 spacenonewline; char '(' <?> "codep"; code <- anyChar `manyTill` char ')'; return code } ) <|> return ""