Sterling began yesterday by hitting a five-week high against the dollar before falling back as the day progressed. Increased optimism over securing a Brexit deal helped support the pound, before Britain’s biggest car manufacturer, Jaguar Land Rover, attacked Theresa May’s Brexit plans. The company’s chief executive, Ralf Speth, said leaving the EU without a deal could cause the loss of ‘tens of thousands’ of jobs and that he could not guarantee any of Jaguar Land Rover’s manufacturing plants could continue to operate in the UK after Brexit.
That makes comments made by Jacob Rees-Mogg all the more remarkable, as the chair of the pro-Brexit European Research Group said there was ‘nothing to fear’ from a no-deal scenario. Of course, if the UK does end up agreeing a deal with the EU, neither Rees-Mogg nor Speth’s claims will be put to the test – which is perhaps just as well.
However, the Evening Standard surveyed opposition MPs yesterday and found that Theresa May’s hopes of forcing the Chequers plan through Parliament are hanging by a thread. Time is running out to secure a Brexit deal and the odd thing is that while the EU looks increasingly open to agreeing, the UK government couldn’t be more divided.
UK pay growth picked up in July, with average earnings excluding bonuses rising 2.9% year-on-year. Wage growth is faster than inflation, which currently sits at 2.5%, while unemployment fell by 55,000 to 1.36 million in the three months to July. In the eurozone, the German ZEW economic sentiment survey was better than expected, which will provide some relief given recent trade war fears. By the end of the day, the currency markets more or less ended where they started. Still, a fairly hectic day all told.
That’s why you need to be able to protect your budget – because the constant pull and push on the exchange rates leaves you at the risk of losing thousands of pounds. Speak to your Personal Trader on 020 7898 0541 about how they can use a forward contract to lock in an exchange rate. That way, your money will be protected, because, even if the rate drops, you’ll still use the one you’ve agreed to.
