The pound rose throughout the day yesterday, extending its gains at the latter end of last week and currently more than 1.25% stronger than last week against the euro and US dollar.
Of all the top 20 global currencies, only the Norwegian krone has performed better than the pound in the past week, as Covid-19 cases continue to defy expectations.
It’s a relatively quiet week for data, although we’ll hear more on house prices tomorrow from the Nationwide. Today at 11am it’s the CBI distributive trades survey of retail sales, which last month hit +25, its highest for three years and well above expectations.
Another member of the Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee has shown his hand on interest rates. Gertjan Vlieghe reiterated the stance that current inflation is transitory and that interest rate rises must wait: “Yes, the economy has been growing rapidly, but on the most recent data it remains an average recession away from full employment,” he said, adding: “I think it will remain appropriate to keep the current monetary stimulus in place for several quarters at least, and probably longer.”
