The pound is stronger against the euro and slightly weaker against the dollar this morning, but still holding above significant levels. It’s held firm despite the introduction of new restrictions from the government to slow the spread of COVID-19.
The biggest factor this week for sterling is Brexit. The EU summit will take place on Thursday and Friday when member states will assess the progress of negotiations. This is expected to give a strong indication of whether a deal can be reached or not. The Prime Minister has said that he will stick to his pledge to walk away from talks if a deal isn’t achieved, or significant progress isn’t made by the 15th. He added that time left is in “short supply”.
A series of jobs data came in for the UK this morning. The number of people claiming unemployment benefits in the United Kingdom rose by 28 thousand to 2.7 million in August, which was less than expected. However, UK unemployment rate increased to 4.5% in the three months to August from 4.1% in the previous period and above market expectations of 4.3%.
