Sterling has returned whence it started the week against the euro, having strengthened by around 1% midweek. That still places GBP/EUR well above where it started the summer.
Against the dollar the picture is considerably worse, with the pound very close to breaching even the lows of mid-July, when it was at its weakest since the early days of Covid-19 and beyond that, for several decades.
Two big data releases led the morning round, with GfK consumer confidence lower than expectations at -44, its lowest since records began in 1974. On the other hand, retail sales were surprisingly resilient in July, despite the sweltering temperatures keeping shoppers off the high street. Online sales rose by 4.8%.
Next week is relatively quiet for data, with the first of note being PMI on Tuesday.
GBP/EUR past year
