The pound strengthened throughout the course of yesterday against both the euro and the dollar due to falling COVID-19 infection numbers in the UK.
Data released revealed that infections have fallen for six consecutive days. Despite this, it is still too early to assess how ‘Freedom Day’ on July 19 has impacted case numbers.
The CBI distributive trades survey’s retail sales balance was released yesterday, coming in at +23 for July and slightly above market forecasts of +21. This showed that there was a solid increase in retail sales volumes in July, partly due to non-essential shops reopening.
Today, house price figures will be released, which are expected to show a slight drop in July from last month.


