By Greg Smith on Monday, September 3rd, 2018
in Market Insights
GBP – Carney before Treasury Committee Bank of England Governor Mark Carney and colleagues from the Monetary Policy Committee will testify about the recent interest rate hike and August Inflation Report in front of the House of Commons Treasury Select Committee. There are rumours that Mr Carney has been asked to stay on as BoE […]
By Greg Smith on Tuesday, August 28th, 2018
in Market Insights
GBP – Brexit negotiations ramp up The focus for the UK will remain the ongoing Brexit discussions. UK Brexit Secretary Dominic Raab and EU chief negotiator Michel Barnier met last week and announced that with key autumn deadlines approaching, negotiations will be ongoing. Mr Raab and Mr Barnier will likely meet again this week. Last […]
By Greg Smith on Monday, August 20th, 2018
in Market Insights
GBP – Brexit negotiations resume Last week was a busy week for economic data in the UK, though the data had little bearing on the fortunes of sterling. Unemployment fell to a 43-year low of 4%, though pay growth remained modest. Inflation moved slightly higher for the year, whilst the ‘core’ rate remained steady at […]
By Greg Smith on Monday, August 13th, 2018
in Market Insights
GBP – GDP Bounces Back Second quarter GDP was the main piece of data for the UK last week. GDP showed a rebound to 0.4% for the quarter reflecting rises in industrial production and construction. Services were more of a concern showing no growth, with exports also falling over 3.5%. Sterling fell against the USD […]
By Greg Smith on Monday, August 6th, 2018
in Market Insights
GBP – Sterling struggles after rate hike Last week, the Bank of England raised interest rates to 0.75% from 0.5%. The BoE also slightly increased its inflation forecast. The committee suggested that further modest rate increases were likely, dependent upon Brexit outcomes. There was new guidance around the ‘neutral’ interest rate which it put at […]
By Greg Smith on Monday, July 30th, 2018
in Market Insights
GBP – BoE rate hike expected In a busy week in the UK, the Bank of England will decide on an interest rate hike in addition to providing updated economic forecasts and guidance on ‘neutral’ interest rates. We expect the MPC to agree on a rate hike of 0.25%, for the second time in nine […]
By Greg Smith on Monday, July 23rd, 2018
in Market Insights
GBP – Sterling slides on weak data It was a challenging week for UK data and politics as sterling slides to recent lows against the dollar and euro. The depreciation was a reaction to weaker than expected data and uncertainty around Brexit. Inflation for June was well below forecasts at 2.4% whilst retail sales […]
By Greg Smith on Monday, July 16th, 2018
in Market Insights
GBP – Turbulent politics remain Despite a turbulent week in politics, the UK outlook appears relatively positive. The UK monthly GDP released last week showed positive momentum growing. We also expect to see positive UK labour market data and retail sales this week which will further bolster the picture of second-quarter growth. We also expect […]
By Greg Smith on Monday, July 9th, 2018
in Market Insights
GBP – Stronger PMIs, weakened May Last week saw all of the June PMI surveys better than market expectations. The composite PMI showed strong growth at 55.2. Meanwhile, Bank of England Governor Carney said that he is more confident that the first quarter GDP growth slowdown was temporary and that the economy is evolving as […]
By Greg Smith on Monday, July 2nd, 2018
in Market Insights
GBP – PMIs and PM May’s meeting Data continued to point to a robust economy with first quarter GDP revised up to 0.2% following stronger construction numbers along with stronger manufacturing PMI. Bank of England economist, Andy Haldane highlighted pay growth as key in his decision to vote for a rate hike. With this in […]