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GBPYesterday, the UK issued a fresh series of positioning papers on Brexit and Prime Minister May was optimistic that sufficient progress would be made by October for the next phase of the talks to take place. The overall impact was limited, with EU spokesman Winterstein repeating that sufficient progress on…
USDPolitical fallout after the unrest in Charlottesville and the cabinet reshuffling last week instilled doubt in investors who priced in concerns that President Trump was able to impose his infrastructure plans and/or tax reforms (this year). This caused the Dollar to fall against its major peers and the Pound closed…
GBPThe latest UK retail sales data was slightly stronger than expected with a 0.3% increase in volume for July after a downwardly-revised 0.3% gain the previous month. The small decline in non-food sales for the month was offset by a strong recovery in food sales. The underlying data still pointed…
GBPThe latest UK labour-market data created headlines with unemployment falling to a 42-year low of 4.4% in the three months to June. There was a decline in the jobless claimant count for July compared with expectations of a small increase for the month. Unemployment is at its lowest level since…
GBPUK consumer prices declined 0.1% in July and the year-on-year rate was unchanged at 2.6% compared with consensus estimates of a small increase to 2.7% for the month. Core inflation was also static at 2.4%, although the Retail Price Index (RPI) inflation rate increased to 3.6% from 3.5% as the…
GBPSterling continued to drift lower during the early session on Monday as underlying sentiment remained fragile. During the afternoon there were media reports that pro-EU MPs in parliament were looking to block any ‘hard’ Brexit. Given the government’s weak position, there will be expectations that dissenters will have a strong…
GBPBank of England (BoE) external Monetary Policy Committee member (MPC) Saunders stated on Friday that fears over a sharp decline in consumer spending had not materialised and he was relatively optimistic surrounding the outlook with a further increase in employment. The currency impact was limited as Saunders had voted for…
GBPThe UK Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) services sector strengthened to 53.8 for July from 53.4, above consensus forecasts of 53.6 as employment growth remained strong. As expected, the Bank of England (BoE) maintained interest rates at 0.25% and the 6-2 vote also met consensus forecasts following Kristin Forbes departure. Andy…
GBPUK construction PMI declined to 51.9 for July, well below consensus forecasts of 54.4 and the weakest reading for 11 months. There was a slowdown in new orders growth, especially for the commercial sector as political and economic uncertainty had a negative impact. Sterling found support above 1.3200 against the…
GBPUK PMI manufacturing beat expectations by rising to 55.1 for July from a revised 54.2 previously. The orders component was strong notably in export orders which increased at the fastest pace for over seven years. The data provided net support to confidence in the economy and the latest UK CBI…