After dire growth forecasts from the Bank of England last Thursday, and an interest rate cut, sterling regained much of its lost ground against the dollar and euro by the end of week.
This week, President Trump has already upset the markets with a newly announced round of tariffs; 25% on all steel and aluminium imports. This will be of very limited concern for the UK, but in all the turmoil the dollar rose 0.3% against the pound and euro.
However the pound remains strong against the euro, close to 1% up on the week and 2.5% stronger than this time last year. To lock in this rate for what looks like a rocky year ahead, call your account manager on 020 8108 5163.
So, what else is coming down the line to upset your exchange rate? We’ll get some data on retail sales from the British high street overnight. But the big event is the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) reading for the last quarter of 2024, which will be out on Thursday.
Just before that, anyone interested in the UK housing market should take note of the RICS House Price Balance – a survey of chartered surveyor’s predictions for the housing market.
With the Bank of England teetering on ramping up its interest rate cutting programme, all these smaller inputs can move the market.
On Friday, the eurozone will release its own growth data. Both the UK and EU are battling worries of economic stagnation.
