Following Tuesday’s boost to the dollar, driven by the uncertainty of US President Trump’s fresh tariff confusion, USD slipped back against the pound and euro on Wednesday. It was only a small loss of 0.15% but pronounced as the pound and euro remained almost dead level with one another.
In a sign of the pressure on home buyers in the UK, the Bank of England is allowing lenders to make more high loan-to-income mortgage agreements. These deals let first-time buyers borrow 4.5 times their annual earnings, allowing them to buy more expensive homes. Of course, these are riskier deals, with the borrower having to meet larger monthly repayments.
Meanwhile, fresh data from the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors shows that for the third month in a row, house prices in the UK have fallen by 7%. That is lower than market expectations, but only just.
Tomorrow’s GDP data will show how this turbulent year has been hitting UK growth.
Yesterday saw Trump threatened further tariffs to be implemented on August 1, including a 50% levy on Brazil as a punishment for the “witch-hunt” against former right-wing President Jair Bolsonaro. His surprise announcement of a 50% tariff on copper imports also sent the price of the metal soaring to a record high.
Data this afternoon will reveal US jobless claims and analysts currently predict it will rise, although their accuracy on this has been erratic.
Inflation data out of Germany this morning reveals that it has continued to hit its target of 2%.
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