The government’s win in the Commons last night was widely predicted, but is only the first parliamentary hurdle for the Bill, with amendments being added further down the legislative road.
Sterling has not reacted significantly since the vote, weakening only slightly this morning as supportive economic data has come in.
We learned this morning that unemployment in the UK rose by nearly 74,000 in August. This was a decline from the 94,000 that lost jobs in July and was better than expectations. Earnings data is also better than expected, with average earnings (excluding bonuses) rising 0.2% in July against a predicted fall.
A busy week for data continues with inflation tomorrow and retail sales on Friday. However, between those two are the Bank of England’s interest rate decision, where the MPC is expected to hold rates on 0.1% and quantitative easing at £745bn.
