The pound is slightly stronger against the euro and is beginning to gain some strength against the dollar this morning following the release of UK retail sales data.
Retail sales fell in May, with food stores being the main contributor, but this decline was softer than expected.
This morning also saw the Conservatives lose two by-elections in Wakefield and Tiverton and Honiton – a major blow for the party. The Liberal Democrats overturned a 24,000 Tory majority with a 30% swing to take Tiverton and Honiton in Devon, while Labour won Wakefield in West Yorkshire.
In the eurozone, disappointing PMI data has weighed on the euro. The single currency will be looking to today’s German Ifo business climate figures for support.
In the US, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell rounded up his two-day testimony yesterday. He reassured Americans that the Fed is “strongly committed to bringing inflation back down” and it is “moving expeditiously to do so.”
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