The single currency staged a recovery yesterday afternoon following economic news that was supportive, including eurozone GDP rising well ahead of expectations.
This meant that the pound fell by close to 0.5% against the euro despite otherwise supportive news, including the market’s strong prediction that the Bank of England will raise interest rates on Thursday in an attempt to contain inflation currently rising at 5.4%, nearly two and a half times the rate that the Bank of England is charged at keeping it.
This morning we have seen UK house prices rising by 11.2% annually and 0.8% in January, the strongest start to the year since 2005.
Inflation is also leaping ahead in the eurozone, with France currently on 2.9% annually, after a January rise of 0.3% against an expectation of a 0.1% fall in prices.
Away from the economics, in UK politics the Sue Gray report into Downing Street parties during lockdowns was critical of the drinking culture and “a failure of leadership”. For now, however, it appears that Boris Johnson has staved off a leadership challenge.
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