The pound is slightly weaker this morning following disappointing retail sales data.
Despite the support of the festive period, retail sales fell in December as households felt the pressure of soaring costs.
Markets are now expecting, with near certainty, the Bank of England to announce an interest rate hike in February.
The eurozone has also seen record inflation. The annual inflation rate came in at 5%, however, President of the European Central Bank Christine Lagarde did not seem overly concerned and defended maintaining interest rates.
In the US, the number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits rose unexpectedly last week as the effects of the Omicron variant on the economy begin to show.
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