Wednesday will finally put an end to months of speculation around the autumn Budget. Will Chancellor Rachel Reeves be able to keep both currency markets and the Labour party on side? More importantly, how will her policies affect your money? We’ll get the answers to those questions shortly after lunchtime in two days’ time.
Rain or shine, we’ll be here to help you all week. Please keep in mind that we can help lock in today’s rate to avoid any possible mayhem. Give us a call on 020 8003 4915 and you’ll be able to sleep soundly through the storm.
When it came to pre-budget prep, the chancellor could hardly have had a worse Friday. New figures showed UK government borrowing overshot expectations in October. Combined with a significant fall in retail sales, the latest data dealt a fresh blow to the public finances and the chancellor’s plans for a smooth week.
If there was one ray of light to end last week, it came from the UK’s manufacturing sector, which recorded its first monthly expansion since September 2024. That positive news was tempered by a contraction in the vital services segment. October’s composite PMI (which combines both services and manufacturing) came in below expectations in S&P’s study, dragged down by that poor services performance.
In truth, Reeves is in a bind. She has already made a high-profile U-turn on tax and saw her credibility nosedive. The prospect of a watered-down package of savings and tax rises has contributed to the pound’s recent weakness, a trend that may worsen between now and Friday.
But there’s more to this week than the Budget. Two influential studies arrive from Germany in the form of the GfK and the Ifo surveys. France and Italy also report headline inflation data to wrap up proceedings. All of this and more could impact your pound to euro rate before all’s said and done.
