After a strong start to the week, the pound has weakened against the euro and the dollar this morning. It may have weakened due to reports that the EU’s Chief Negotiator, Michel Barnier, is due to brief EU leaders on the possibility that there may end up being no deal by the end of the year. According to these reports, the three key sticking points still haven’t been resolved.
The UK has become the first country in the world to approve the Pfizer/BioNtech vaccine, which could start to be rolled out as early as next week. The vaccine has proved to be up to 95% effective against the virus. This news provides hope for an economic bounce-back next year.
The IHS Markit/CIPS UK Manufacturing PMI figure was revised higher to 55.6 in November from a preliminary estimate of 55.2 and above 53.7 in October. The reading pointed to the strongest growth in factory activity in near 3 years.
Today, the Bank of England will hold their Financial Policy Committee meeting, which will involve discussions based around reducing systemic risk in the UK financial system.
