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The Bank Holiday yesterday meant that both the UK and US markets were closed. Following the lack of economic data from the UK last week, ‘Brexit’ news took centre stage over the weekend. Prime Minister David Cameron and the new London Mayor Sadiq Khan spoke together at an EU referendum…
Underlying uncertainty was still hindering Sterling’s progress against major currencies yesterday. The Pound tested support close to 1.2900 against the Euro and dipped to recent lows just under 1.4450 against the Dollar. Despite opinion polls continuing to suggest a lead for the “stay” campaign and the average of bookmakers’ odds…
Last week was a positive week for Sterling, but gains made through the week fell back slightly on Friday. GBPUSD fell 1% from 1.4660, and GBPEUR similarly fell 1% from 1.3061. This came as a TNS ‘Brexit’ poll was released Friday morning which showed the ‘Leave’ campaign as having a…
Yesterday, strong UK retail sales data provided a boost for Sterling, with a headline increase of 1.3% for April against the market expectation of 0.5%. The annual increase also showed strong growth, which came in at 4.3%, well above the 2.5% the market had expected. The Pound rallied following the…
Yesterday Sterling experienced gains unseen since the announcement of the EU referendum, as the latest IPSOS Mori poll showed 55% of participants backed a vote to remain. This poll, along with promising unemployment data from the UK meant Sterling strengthened against both the Dollar and the Euro. GBPUSD gained over 2…
The negative data trend for the UK continued yesterday as April’s services PMI came in at 52.3, down from the 53.7 figure seen for March. This is the weakest services figure for three years, completing the set as all three PMI figures came in weaker for April. Although not directly…
UK Construction has slowed to its weakest level in the last nine months; Markit Construction PMI data printed at 55. Although the figure still showed growth it was below market expectations of 57.5. Markit economist Tim Moore said construction firms were struggling for momentum, with increased economic uncertainty holding back…
A data light day on Friday saw Sterling drop 1.65% versus the US Dollar and 1% versus the Euro despite UK GfK Group Consumer Confidence printing better than expected in the small hours. This was the best reading since August 2015, but consumers’ outlooks are being somewhat tainted by the…
As the US has been the first major economy to hike rates, the Federal Open Market Committee’s (FOMC) December minutes will be carefully watched this evening, with the markets expecting some form of indication of the path of rate rises for 2016. Janet Yellen and co. have previously hinted that…
We return during “Christmas limbo” – the odd time between Christmas and New Year – with Sterling not too different to how we left it on Christmas Eve. The Dollar remains strong against the Pound as the pair has returned to 1.48 levels, though technical analysts are taking a bearish…