By Greg Smith on Monday, October 12th, 2020
in Blog, Market Insights
GBP – Further Covid measures Concerns continue to increase around further rises in Covid cases. An announcement is expected this evening to introduce new Covid measures. Across Europe, the rules have been tightened in Belgium, France, Germany and Italy. Scotland also announced stricter Covid measures, including the temporary closure pubs and restaurants in certain areas. […]
By Greg Smith on Monday, October 5th, 2020
in Blog, Market Insights
GBP – GDP to show a strong rebound The UK economy is likely to show a record rebound of around 20% in GDP in the third quarter, following a drop of 19.8% in the second quarter. This week, we expect GDP to come in around 6% higher for August. The easing of lockdown restriction and […]
By Greg Smith on Monday, September 28th, 2020
in Blog, Market Insights
GBP – Chancellor Sunak support Last week was eventful with a tightening of restrictions in reaction to increasing Covid cases. Those moves were followed by a new economic support package from Chancellor Rishi Sunak. This included a new scheme to replace the furlough scheme from November. Chancellor Sunak also extended the VAT cut for the […]
By Greg Smith on Monday, September 21st, 2020
in Blog, Market Insights
GBP – BoE watched on negative policy rates The Bank of England left monetary policy unchanged last week. They signalled that they are ready to offer more support if necessary. The BoE noted that the economic rebound has been stronger than forecast, with a faster than expected rebound in consumer spending. In particular, concerns included […]
By Greg Smith on Monday, September 14th, 2020
in Blog, Market Insights
GBP – BoE to signal further action Brexit negotiations ended last week with both sides indicating that significant differences remain. The UK government’s Internal Market Bill led the EU to threaten legal action. They have given the UK until the end of the month to amend it. The UK government admit the legislation would breach […]
By Greg Smith on Monday, September 7th, 2020
in Blog, Market Insights
GBP – Brexit concerns resurface Brexit talks start again this week with concerns over no agreement putting sterling under pressure. Boris Johnson is expected to say that both sides should “move on” unless there is an agreement by 15th October. Apparently, the UK government is planning new legislation to override parts of the Withdrawal Agreement […]
By Greg Smith on Tuesday, September 1st, 2020
in Blog, Market Insights
GBP – Data strong as schools return There are concerns over an increase in the number of UK Covid cases, particularly as schools go back this week. Further rises in cases will increase concerns over the improving data. Switzerland and a number of others were added to the list of countries from which travellers need […]
By Greg Smith on Monday, August 24th, 2020
in Blog, Market Insights
GBP – Surprisingly stronger data The data last week was mostly positive for the UK. Retail sales, in particular, were much stronger with a 3.6% rise. This is slower than the last couple of months but suggests the post lockdown surge isn’t running out of steam yet. The manufacturing and services PMIs were also much […]
By Greg Smith on Monday, August 17th, 2020
in Blog, Market Insights
GBP – Positive PMIs expected This week is a very busy one for UK economic data releases. The manufacturing and services PMIs will be the first updates for August. We expect both to show further increases. The services PMI should be positively impacted by the government’s temporary VAT reduction and from the easing in lockdown […]
By Greg Smith on Monday, August 10th, 2020
in Blog, Market Insights
GBP – BoE hold policy, GDP due The Bank of England left interest rates at 0.1% and QE unchanged as expected. The MPC suggested that the economy is not as weak as previously feared. This is due to an earlier easing of lockdown and greater-than-expected online spending. They projected GDP to return to pre-Covid levels […]
