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GBP – Brexit optimism boosts sterling Last week – Last week UK inflation softened from 3.1% to 3.0% in December’s reading showing the squeeze in UK households was lessening. – The close of last week saw the pound fall against major currencies such as the US dollar as UK retail sales numbers disappointed markets. In December, UK retail sales fell from 1.5% to 1.4% despite forecasts to rise. – Throughout the week rumours of a…
The pound exchange rate softened against the euro (GBP/EUR) and Australian dollar (GBP/AUD) on Friday after UK retail sales fell short of predictions. Markets had expected to see a rise from 1.5% to 2.6% on the year, but actually, the reading slumped to 1.4%. The month of December showed a -1.5% contraction, rather than the -0.6% drop economists had forecast. The fall in retail sales in December has been accredited partly to the previous month’s…
The pound has been trending higher against the euro (GBP/EUR) and Australian dollar (GBP/AUD) on Wednesday afternoon as news that a softer Brexit might occur kept investors interested in sterling. Rumours that Spain and the Netherlands want a soft Brexit for the UK and strong ties after the UK leaves the EU has helped to buoy the British currency, which has recently achieved its highest level against the US dollar (GBP/USD) since the Brexit vote….
GBP – Pound breaches 1.37 versus US dollar Last week – The UK’s industrial production figure noted 0.4% expansion in November, but on the year, the data dropped from 4.3% to 2.5%. – UK manufacturing fell from 4.7% to 3.5% on the year in November, while construction output showed 0.4% annual growth. – Towards the end of the week, the British currency rallied to its highest level since the Brexit referendum against the US dollar,…
The pound climbed against a host of other majors on Friday, including the euro (GBP/EUR) and US dollar (GBP/USD). Sterling’s rally came after news that European countries Spain and the Netherlands would be open to the UK having a softer Brexit. Today Bloomberg reported that Spanish and Dutch finance ministers are going to work closely in an attempt to obtain a Brexit deal that allows the UK to remain as close to the European Union…
It’s a big day for the UK concerning economic data with a host of influential ecostats flooding the market this morning. However, the raft of data has given a mixed bag of results; UK industrial production has fallen on the year from 4.3% to 2.5% in November (better than the 1.8% forecast), and the seasonally adjusted construction output number also remained above expectations of -1.0%, and resided at 0.4% in November, falling from the previous…
GBP Exchange Rate Forecast – BoE survey ahead Last week – The pound slid at the start of last week against currency majors like the US dollar (GBP/USD) and Australian dollar (GBP/AUD) after weaker-than-forecast UK construction data was released. The Markit construction purchasing managers’ index (PMI) came in at 52.2 in December, even though economists had expected 53.0. This is the sixth fall in a row for this piece of data. – Later in the…
The pound spent Friday morning in a tight range against the euro (GBP/EUR) and slightly higher against the Aussie (GBP/AUD) as economic data hit the market. The British Retail Consortium’s (BRC) shop price index contracted further in December on the year, declining from -0.1% to -0.6%. Shop prices fell further into deflationary territory on account of sales and discounts retailers offered on non-food products, and came as the most extensive fall since March. Meanwhile, food…
Pound breaches 1.35 against US dollar (GBP/USD) Last week – In the last week, the pound has crept above the 1.35 level against the US dollar as a softer buck continued to trend in the market. This comes just over a week after US President Donald Trump signed his monumental tax bill that had been a hot topic throughout 2017. – The pound noted some gains over the festive period, marking multi-day highs against some…
China Links A few times this quarter the Australian dollar has fluctuated on data from the nation’s largest trading partner, China. For instance, China’s service activity slumped to a 21-month low in September at only 50.6. Any figure above 50.0 shows growth, a figure below denotes contraction. For contrast, August had resided at a healthier 52.7. On the flip side, China’s imports rose nicely in September to 19.5% on the year – a factor that…
